(Editor's note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the headline were updated in the story. Figures from economic reports were added.)
U.S. stock futures declined on Friday following the release of key economic data. Futures of all the major benchmark indices ticked lower.
The U.S. economy slowed sharply at the end of 2025, with gross domestic product growing at a 1.4% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, according to advance estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That marked a significant deceleration from the previous quarter's 4.4% pace and fell well short of economists' expectations for 3% growth.
Inflation pressures also edged higher as the headline Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose to 2.9% year over year in December, up from 2.8% in November.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Iran it must strike a deal on its nuclear program within 10 to 15 days or face “really bad things,” prompting Tehran to threaten retaliation against U.S. bases across the Middle East if it is attacked.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.07%, and the two-year bond was at 3.47%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 94% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.21% |
| S&P 500 | -0.27% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.37% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.57% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, reversed course to trade lower in the premarket session on Friday. The SPY was down 0.32% at $686.26, while the QQQ slipped 0.48% to $600.60.
Stocks In Focus
Dropbox
- Dropbox Inc. (NASDAQ:DBX) fell 4.16% in premarket on Friday despite posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The company also said it sees FY2026 sales of $2.485 billion to $2.500 billion, versus market estimates of $2.494 billion.
- DBX maintains a weaker price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a poor growth ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.
Copart
- Copart Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) dropped 6.64% after posting downbeat earnings for the second quarter. It reported quarterly earnings of 36 cents per share, which missed the consensus estimate of 40 cents.
- CPRT maintains a weak price trend over the short, medium, and long terms with a solid quality ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.
Comfort Systems US
- Comfort Systems USA Inc. (NYSE:FIX) rose 4.57% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and raising its quarterly dividend.
- FIX maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings.
Grail
- Grail Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) plunged 47.04% following its fourth quarter and full year earnings with revenue of $41.3 million and net loss of $99.2 million, which includes amortization of Illumina acquisition-related intangible items of $34.6 million.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GRAL maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms.
Candel Therapeutics
- Candel Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CADL) declined 12.27% after announcing the pricing of a $100 million public stock offering.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CADL maintains a weak price trend over the long, medium, and short terms.
Cues From Last Session
On Thursday, Utilities led the gains with a 1.13% increase as investors sought defensive assets, while Financials suffered the steepest decline, dropping 0.86%.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.54% | 49,395.16 |
| S&P 500 | -0.28% | 6,861.89 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.31% | 22,682.73 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.24% | 2,665.09 |
Insights From Analysts
Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, maintains a bullish outlook on the U.S. economy, recently upgrading the GDP growth forecast to 2.9% from 2.4%. Despite the current caution in the market following recent volatility, Wren argues that the current environment is a “robust pace for the world’s largest economy”.
Rather than retreating into defensive assets, Wren recommends leaning into sectors sensitive to this growth. He specifically identifies Financials and Industrials as top picks.
Wren notes that Industrials are uniquely positioned to benefit from the “artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout,” which requires significant upgrades to data centers and the electrical grid. While acknowledging that a midterm election year often brings turbulence, Wren views these dips as entry points:
“In our view, pullbacks are opportunities to step into large- and mid-cap domestic equities in favored sectors”. Ultimately, he rejects the popular move toward safety, stating firmly, “We do not favor defensive positioning”.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday.
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a 1.4% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, according to advance estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That marked a significant deceleration from the previous quarter's 4.4% pace and fell well short of economists' expectations for 3% growth.
- Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose to 2.9% year over year in December, up from 2.8% in November and above forecasts for no change. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy and is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, increased to 3% from 2.8%, exceeding expectations for a 2.9% reading.
- February’s S&P flash U.S. services and manufacturing PMI will be released by 9:45 a.m., November and December’s delayed new home sales report, and February’s preliminary consumer sentiment data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.39% to hover around $66.14 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.89% to hover around $5,040.69 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.11% lower at the 97.5940 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.65% higher at $68,103.42 per coin.
Asian markets closed lower on Friday, except South Korea's Kospi and India’s Nifty 50 indices. Japan's Nikkei 225, China’s CSI 300, Australia's ASX 200, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices closed lower. European markets were mostly higher in early trade.
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