U.S. stock-index futures edged lower Friday as one of the busiest weeks of the first quarter earnings reporting season comes to a close with investors weighing blockbuster results from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. while keeping an eye on weaker economic data out of China and Europe.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index declined to 51.1 in April from 51.9 in March, according to data released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The reading was much lower than the 51.6 median forecast expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, but remained above the 50 level, marking an expansion in activity.
“A key message from many of these tech firms is that the world is moving again, with businesses investing in areas like technology and advertising, and consumers spending,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, in a note.