Futures dip on tech weakness, Treasury yields steady

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(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday, as steady Treasury yields after strong economic data this week pointed toward more movement out of heavyweight technology stocks.

FAANG stocks, including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc, some of the largest tech names on Wall Street, fell slightly in premarket trading.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year notes held around levels touched yesterday, after an unexpectedly strong retail sales reading.

Focus now turns to a meeting of the Federal Reserve next week, with investors debating if a swathe of strong economic data this week could spur the bank into shortening its timeline for reducing monetary stimulus.

Losses in major technology stocks had pulled the S&P 500 lower on Thursday, after a jump in bond yields saw investors pivot into sectors most likely to benefit from an economic recovery this year.

The retail sales reading came on the heels of data showing steady factory activity and a cooling in inflation, which suggested the U.S. economic recovery was resilient despite a recent rise in cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant.

U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 13 points, or 0.29%, at 06:29 am ET. Dow E-minis were down 70 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 41.25 points, or 0.27%.

All three major indexes were headed for small weekly gains. But they were also trading lower for the month due to seasonally weaker trends in September.

Monthly losses in the Nasdaq were the least as investors had initially shifted to sectors more resilient to economic disruptions from the pandemic. This trade, however, could unwind in the coming weeks.

Among other movers, Invesco Ltd rose 7.3% before the bell on reports that the investment management firm was in talks to merge with peer State Street Corp (NYSE:STT)’s asset-management business.

State Street shares were flat.