US stock futures fell Friday, tacitly ending a strong week on Wall Street, as investors waited for data on how the economy was performing in early 2021.
Futures pegged to the S&P 500 were down 0.7%, indicating that the benchmark gauge could open lower after megacap tech companies fell to their fourth record close of the new year on Thursday. Futures for the technology-focused Nasdaq-100 index lost 0.6% and contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.8%.
Markets seemed to pause after a recovery for much of January, with money managers saying there was no apparent catalyst for the decline. Investors have been cheered on in recent days by a solid start to the earnings season, although some are concerned that high valuations in remote corners of the market will leave stocks vulnerable in the coming months.
“People just quit for lack of new ammunition,” said Lars Skovgaard Andersen, investment strategist at Danske Bank Wealth Management.
Investors are cautious about adding new positions ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on monetary policy and the earnings of big companies like Facebook, Apple and Tesla next week, he added.