Stock Futures Slip as Wall Street Awaits Retail Sales

New York (May 13)  Stock futures were in the red on Friday morning as crude oil threatened to fall below $46 a barrel and investors awaited data on U.S. retail sales.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.24%.

Good news out from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to give crude a boost on Friday. The group of major oil-producing countries expects cuts to U.S. production and reduced investments from energy giants will help to rebalance a supply glut this year. Non-OPEC production is expected to fall by 740,000 barrels a day from 2015 to 56.4 million barrels this year, the group said in a monthly report.

Crude prices were lower on Friday after an erratic day of trading a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $46.09 a barrel.

Data on retail sales for April, due on Friday, are expected to show a slight improvement, though, as auto sales grow and higher gas prices alleviate pressures on inflation. Consensus is for a 0.9% increase in April. Core sales, excluding autos and fuel, should advance 0.3%.

"Consumer spending will receive a boost from stronger auto sales and higher gasoline prices," TD Securities analysts wrote in a note. "The underlying tone of this report should be quite constructive, pointing to a rebound in consumer spending momentum after the brief relapse earlier this year."

Nordstrom (JWN - Get Report) shares fell 17% after a sales decline and higher discounting pressured quarterly profit. First-quarter profit grew an anemic 0.9% and missed estimates, while comparable-store sales declined 1.7%.

Shake Shack (SHAK - Get Report) rose 5% in premarket trading after swinging to a profit in its first quarter and hiking its full-year sales outlook. The burger chain reported a 43% surge in revenue, while first-quarter profit of 8 cents a share beat by 3 cents.

Symantec (SYMC)  posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 22 cents a share, which fell short of analysts' expectations by a penny, and said it was cutting roughly 10% of its workforce as it reorganizes. The security and data security management company also reported a 3% dip in revenue. Shares fell 3%.

Source: TheStreet