US stock futures higher following prior day’s sell-off as government says trade deficit rises

Stock futures slightly higher after trade data

NEW YORK — Stock futures crept higher Friday as investors weighed a bigger-than-expected increase in the trade deficit and more retail earnings reports.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit jumped 18.2 percent in September to $36.5 billion. That was the largest deficit since January and more than the $31.7 billion imbalance economists had expected.

The wider deficit was driven by a big rise in imports, led by a jump in oil shipments. That overwhelmed a fifth consecutive increase in exports. Exports are expected to continue to rise on the back of a weakening dollar, but as the economy improves, imports should increase as well.

A better-than-expected earnings report from teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and an improved outlook from department-store chain J.C. Penney Co. supported the early gains in stock futures.

Meanwhile, the dollar resumed its decline against other currencies. The dollar’s steady decline since March, spurred by record-low interest rates, has encouraged investors to move their money out of the dollar and into higher-yielding assets like stocks and commodities. A weak dollar makes U.S. exports and dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for foreign buyers, which should help boost corporate profits down the line.

Ahead of the market’s open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 7, or 0.1 percent, to 10,196. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.50, or 0.1 percent, to 1,088.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 5.75, or 0.3 percent, to 1,779.50.

The slight bounce in futures follows a sharp drop in stocks on Thursday, when the Dow Jones industrials tumbled 93 points and broke a six-day winning streak as oil prices tumbled on fresh signs of weak energy demand and a stronger dollar.

On Friday, the ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against other currencies, slid 0.3 percent after rising the past two days.

Gold prices hovered at $1,106 an ounce, while oil prices slipped 31 cents to $76.66 a barrel in electronic premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In earnings news, teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said its third-quarter profit fell 39 percent on an ongoing slump in sales. But results were better than analysts had expected. Its shares soared more than 7 percent, adding $2.59 to $39.35 in premarket trading.

J.C. Penney Co. said its net income dropped 78 percent during the third quarter on a big pension-related expense. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge for retailers, slid 4.6 percent. But the company boosted its profit and sales outlook. Shares gained $1.38, or 4.7 percent, to $30.77.

Those reports followed a stronger-than-expected profit from The Walt Disney Co., which said late Thursday that improved revenue at its cable, broadcast and movie studio units helped it post an 18 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose, while other government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.43 percent from 3.45 percent late Thursday. The government wrapped up $81 billion in bond auctions for the week on Thursday.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average slipped 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.7 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.4 percent.