Markets today: flash PMIs and blue-chip earnings after a Nasdaq slide

Stocks open Friday on the back foot. The Nasdaq is coming off a 2.15% drop, and the calendar hands traders two things at once: the July flash purchasing-manager surveys and quarterly results from four blue-chip names, American Express among them.

On the calendar today

The flash PMIs land first, at 9:45 a.m. ET. S&P Global reports its manufacturing gauge (forecast 54.3, against 53.9 in the prior read), its services gauge (51.5, from 51.2), and a composite that stood at 51.9 last month. These are preliminary reads. Both the factory and services forecasts sit above their prior readings. At 10:00, the June new-home sales report follows. Consensus is 0.61 million units at an annual rate, up from 0.58 million, and it lands after a month when sales fell 7.3%.

Reporting today

Four names Bellwize covers report today, and the group reaches across the market. American Express offers a read on card spending among consumers and businesses. Verizon Communications reports from telecom and NextEra Energy from utilities. Oilfield-services company SLB rounds out the slate, carrying a read on drilling and completions activity for the energy sector. Four names, one morning.

The backdrop

Thursday’s session closed lower across the board. The S&P 500 finished at 7,408.30, down 1.21%. The Dow gave up 0.97% to 51,711.65. The Nasdaq took the hardest hit, off 2.15% at 25,137.69. Volatility rose with the tape: the VIX climbed to 18.88, and the 10-year Treasury yield sat at 4.67%. Every major index ended in the red, and the damage was steepest in the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

What to watch

The flash PMIs are the first hard data on July business activity, covering both factories and services in a single morning. Readings above 50 signal expansion, and all three June figures sat there. The survey sets an early tone before the heavier data later in the week.

On earnings, American Express anchors a consumer-facing name, and its card-spending trends tend to draw attention beyond the stock itself. Verizon adds a telecom read, while the NextEra and SLB reports cover utilities and energy services. Together the four give a cross-section of household and corporate demand in one morning.

The new-home sales print at 10:00 arrives on the heels of a 7.3% monthly drop, so the housing read carries some weight for the rate-sensitive parts of the market. A busy open. Then a long tape.

This is a general-market summary for information only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation regarding any security.