U.S. stock futures are lower in pre-market trading for Friday, May 13. The Dow Futures are down -78.00 points to 17,590.0. The S&P 500 Futures are down -8.75 points to 2,050.0. The Nasdaq Futures are lower at 4,316.75 for a loss of -18.00 points. The Russell Futures are showing a loss of -5.54 points at 1,099.2.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Europe and Asia are lower. China’s Shanghai Composite is at 2,827.37 for a loss of -8.49 points or -0.30 percent. The Nikkei in Japan is at 16,412.21 for a loss of -234.13 points or -1.41 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is lower at 19,719.29 for a loss of -196.17 points or -0.99 percent. The S&P BSE Sensex is lower at 25,489.57 for a loss of -300.65 points or -1.17 percent. The Asia Dow is lower at 2,581.36 for a loss of -52.28 points or -1.99 percent.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 6,067.18 for a loss of -37.01 points or -0.61 percent. The FTSE 250 is at 16,567.95 for a loss of -91.92 points or -0.55 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 9,844.95 for a loss of -17.17 points or -0.17 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4,271.76 for a loss of -21.51 points or -0.50 percent. The Europe Dow is down -10.85 points or -0.71 percent to 1,523.38.

Friday’s Factors and Events

In pre-market trading, Monsanto is trading actively after it was reported that Bayer may potentially be buying the agricultural products company.

Source: Google Finance.

The leading report for the day will be the retail sales report and the market will also get another earnings report from retail department store JCPenney on Friday. The retail sales report is expected to show retail sales increasing by a monthly rate of 0.9 percent. However, given the week’s weak reports from retailers it is likely that this number will fall below consensus. Other major reports on the calendar for today include the Producer Price Index, business inventories and consumer sentiment.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, UnitedHealth is trading actively as many traders are taking bets for a lower stock valuation. UnitedHealth has been in focus recently for its withdrawal from ObamaCare and this week the stock has been showing steady declines, down 1.75 percent.

Thursday’s Activity

U.S. market indexes closed mixed on Thursday after corporate earnings and specifically for the retail industry were in speculation for the second half of the year. Weakening economic data has also continued to weigh on the U.S. market and yesterday’s higher jobless claims report added to concerns for the overall economy’s health. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10.06 points or 0.06 percent to close at 17,721.18. The S&P 500 was down, closing at 2,064.11 for a loss of -0.35 points or -0.02 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4,737.33 for a loss of -23.35 points or -0.49 percent.

Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at 1,108.60 for a loss of -6.14 points or -0.55 percent; the S&P 600 closing at 682.19 for a loss of -2.66 points or -0.39 percent; the Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closing at 6,789.13 for a loss of -38.66 points or -0.57 percent; the Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM closing at 8,128.59 for a loss of -22.22 points or -0.27 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1,453.78 for a loss of -1.29 points or -0.09 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1,213.40 for a loss of -1.12 points or -0.09 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 589.90 for a gain of 2.22 points or 0.38 percent.