US futures dropped while European shares opened higher on Friday after markets retreated in Asia ahead of a possible announcement by US President Donald Trump on his nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices dropped and the prices of gold and silver weakened.
The future for the S&P 500 sank 0.8% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7% lower, The Associated Press said.
Trump chose Powell to lead the US central bank in 2017 but has relentlessly assailed him for not cutting interest rates as quickly as the president would like. The appointment to replace him must be confirmed by the Senate.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX picked up 0.8% to 24,506.41, while the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.4% to 8,107.50. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher, to 10,189.05.
The CEO of Indonesia's stock market, Imam Rachman, resigned Friday “As part of a commitment toward recent market conditions,” the exchange said in an announcement.
Jakarta's benchmark gained 1.2% following news of his resignation. It had been trading at all-time highs but sank 7.4% on Wednesday and 1.1% on Thursday after MSCI, a US provider of global equity, fixed income and real estate indices, warned about market risks such as a lack of transparency.
Chinese markets retreated, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shedding 2.1% to 27,387.11. Shares in major ports operator CK Hutchison Holdings dropped 4.6% after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that the concession held by a subsidiary to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal was unconstitutional.
That advanced a US effort to block any influence by China over the strategic waterway.
The Shanghai Composite index slipped 1% to 4,117.95.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell back, losing 0.1% to 53,322.85 as stocks related to artificial intelligence declined. Testing equipment maker Advantest lost 4.5% and computer chip equipment maker Disco Corp. lost 1.7%.
South Korea's Kospi gave up most of its gains late in the session, edging just 0.1% higher to 5,224.36 after the Yonhap News Agency reported that a first day of talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick aimed at resolving trade tensions had not yielded an agreement. The talks are due to continue Friday.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he planned to raise tariffs on South Korean exports if the US ally did not swiftly ratify a trade agreement worked out months ago.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7% to 8,869.10.
Taiwan's benchmark lost 1.5%, while India's Sensex fell 0.3%.
On Thursday, US stocks finished with relatively modest moves.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after flirting with its record high in the morning and dropping by as much as 1.5% later in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.
Investors will likely focus on the Fed and who is to lead it, though earnings are also a major driver of market activity this week. Companies are under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following record-setting runs for their stock prices.
In other dealings early Friday, the price of gold slipped 5% after it rallied briefly to nearly $5,600 on Thursday. Gold’s price topped $5,000 for the first time just this week.
Silver, which has been zooming higher in its own feverish run, tumbled 11%.
Prices for precious metals have been surging as investors look for safer investments while weighing a wide range of risks, including a US stock market that critics say is expensive, political instability, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide.
The US dollar has seen its value sink over the last year because of many of the same risks that drove gold’s price higher. Early Friday, the dollar was trading at 154.14 Japanese yen, up from 153.09 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1922 from $1.1971.
Oil prices slipped after jumping more than 3% on Thursday due to worries about tensions between the United States and Iran, which could ultimately constrict the flow of crude. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the US military “will be prepared to deliver whatever the president expects,” just a day after President Donald Trump told Iran to “make a deal” on its nuclear program.
US benchmark crude oil lost 59 cents to $64.83 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 61 cents to $68.98 per barrel.
