Hedge funds cut NFLX, keep big bets on MSFT, AMZN, add NVDA
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* Deere & Co up after raising earnings target
* Banks stocks ease in early trading
* Futures dip: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.23%
(Adds quote, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Aug 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes headed for a
lower open on Friday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq set to ease from
an all-time high ahead of a round of U.S. business surveys for
August.
Euro zone data showed an economic recovery from its deepest
downturn on record has stuttered this month, setting up a
downbeat tone for IHS Markit's surveys of the U.S. manufacturing
and services sectors due at 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT).
U.S. stocks finished higher on Thursday as investors bet on
tech heavyweights including Apple Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com
AMZN.O to ride out the pandemic while U.S. data painted a
picture of a wobbly economic recovery.
Earlier this week, the S&P 500 clinched a record high,
recouping the last of its losses caused by the
coronavirus-driven slump and joining the Nasdaq in notching new
highs.
The Dow still remains about 6% below its peak in February.
"Because we're at these record levels, people are sort of
re-evaluating," said Chuck Lieberman, chief investment officer
at Advisors Capital Management.
"We're still gradually reopening, and setbacks are on their
way. It makes people concerned at times."
Big banks, which tend to track the economic outlook, slipped
in premarket trading. Bank of America Corp BAC.N , Citigroup
Inc C.N , JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Goldman Sachs GS.N
were down between 0.4% and 0.7%.
Investors also worry about a stalemate in talks between
House Democrats and the White House over the next coronavirus
aid bill as about 28 million Americans continued to collect
unemployment cheques. At 8:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 109 points,
or 0.39%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 14.5 points, or
0.43% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 26.75 points, or
0.23%.
In a bright spot was Deere & Co DE.N which rose 3.3%
premarket after the world's largest farm equipment maker revised
up its full-year earnings forecast. Pfizer PFE.N gained 1% after reporting positive additional
data from an early-stage study of its experimental coronavirus
vaccine being developed in collaboration with German biotech
firm BioNTech BNTX.O22UAy.F .
U.S.-listed shares of BioNTech BNTX.O jumped 5.6%.
Tesla's shares TSLA.O added another 1.8% after surging
past the $2,000 mark on Thursday for the first time and
extending its rally ahead of an upcoming share split.