MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Feel The Weight Of Geopolitical Worries

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Approval for airstrikes in Iraq weighs on investors

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street looked headed for a rough start Friday, with U.S. stock futures pulled lower as geopolitical tensions prompted investors to back away from risk assets.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 62 points, or 0.4%, to 16,262, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) lost 8.1 points, or 0.4%, to 1,897.10. The Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) gave up 19 points, or 0.5%, to 3,837.50.

Data on business productivity are due, but the mix of U.S. authorized airstrikes in Iraq and an escalating trade war between Russia and the West will likely dominate the direction of trading.

"This all paints a rather bleak picture for the open on Wall Street," with the S&P 500 index (SPX) "tipped to kick off the day below the 1,900 mark, and that'll be the first time we've been down here since the latter part of May," said Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades, in a note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) could race out of the gate with a triple-digit loss, he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday authorized targeted airstrikes and emergency-assistance missions in northern Iraq. Obama said the U.S. must protect American personnel and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe against violent Islamist forces.

Investors sought safety in the Japanese yen (USDJPY), and that push higher for the currency led to a 3% dive in Japanese stocks overnight.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hit back on sanctions against countries that placed restrictions on his country, as Russia and the West tussle over the Kremlin's support of separatist forces in Ukraine.

In the Middle East, Israel said Hamas had violated a 72-hour cease-fire and ordered the military to resume fire in the Gaza Strip.

Productivity, stocks to watch

On the data front, a report on labor market productivity in the second quarter is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time release. Productivity at U.S. businesses is likely to modestly rebound after a sharp decline in the first three months of the year. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the Labor Department to report a 1.7% gain in productivity.

A report on wholesale inventories in June is on deck for 10 a.m. Eastern Time from the Commerce Department. Inventories in May rose by 0.5%.

Stocks that may be active on Friday include Gap (GPS) after the apparel retailer's same-store sales increased 2% in July, beating analysts' expectations of a 0.1% rise.

Tesla (TSLA) shares dropped 1% premarket after Pacific Crest securities puta $316 price target on the electric-car maker.

Zynga shares (ZNGA) fell 7.5% in premarket trade after the online social-gaming company late Thursday said its second-quarter loss widened to $62.5 million, or 7 cents a share.

In the commodities market, oil (CLU4) futures rose above $98 a barrel, and gold futures (GCZ4) advanced about $5 an ounce.

European stocks slumped as geopolitical tensions in Iraq and Russia took their toll on investors.

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