MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Lean South; Amazon May Fall

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Stock futures leaned lower, with tech stocks setting up for particular weakness after Amazon.com Inc. posted disappointing results, and as investors readied for durable-goods data.

Shares of Pandora Media Inc. could also extend late-session losses on Thursday after results.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 17 points to 16,981, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) eased 2.1 points to 1,978.60. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4) dropped 12.50 points to 3,959.25.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, a report on durable-goods orders for June will be released. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect orders rose 0.2%, which would reverse a 1% decline in May. The report is often volatile, with swings reported from one month to the next.

Next week has the potential to be big for economic news, with a Federal Open Market Committee meeting and nonfarm-payroll data topping a long list of data on the docket.

Investors will get a small respite from this week's heavy barrage of earnings. Just a handful of names are due to report, including Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) and Xerox Corp. (XRX)

(XRX)(XRX)Investors howled with disappointment over Amazon.com(AMZN) earnings late Thursday. Shares could build on a 7% drop in after-hours trading, which came after the online retailer posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss. Is Amazon spending like a drunken sailor?

Pandora Media(P) dived 12% in late trading on Thursday, after the Internet-based radio company posted wider losses.

Starbucks Corp.(SBUX) got a slight late-session boost after reporting a rise in third-quarter profit and stronger sales.

Some analysts said markets could make slow progress on Friday, given investors may be nervous about the potential for more geopolitical tensions from Russia or Gaza. Read: U.S. says Russian artillery firing into Ukraine.

The S&P 500 (SPX) closed at an all-time high for the 27th time this year on Thursday, but the Dow industrials (DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) both ended the day slightly lower.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said U.S. indexes have started to show divergence signs.

"Technically speaking, when indexes have a divergence between them, it is an early sign of correction, and under the situation when one index is moving up and the rest moving in the opposite direction, it is like a smoke coming out before the fire," said Aslam in emailed comments.

European stocks were drifting into the red on Friday, with German stocks under pressure after weaker-than-expected German Ifo business sentiment data. The blue-chip MICEX in Russia fell 1.4%. The European Commission submitted proposals on new sanctions for Russia linked to the Ukraine crisis on Thursday.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index rallied more than 1% on Friday to the highest settlement in six months, as the yen weakened and domestic inflation data met market expectations. China's Shanghai Composite also put on a strong performance, up 1.1%.

Crude oil (CLU4) was flat, and gold (GCU4) was slightly higher. The euro (EURUSD) was trading around a session low at around $1.3443, dropping after the weak German Ifo data.

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