5 things to know before the market opens on Friday

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis investors need to start their trading day:

US equity futures were flat on Friday morning, the last day of trading for the first week of second quarter earnings reports. Dow futures had an opening gain of around 35 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were little changed. A day earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.79 points, or 0.15%, to close at 34,987.02. The large S&P 500 and the high-tech Nasdaq fell 0.33% and 0.7%, respectively. The 30-stock Dow Jones is on track for its fourth consecutive positive week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on the verge of breaking three-week winning streaks.

Wall Street will examine recent spending habits of Americans at 8:30 a.m. ET, when the Commerce Department releases retail sales figures for June. Economists expect a drop of 0.4%, according to Dow Jones. In May, retail sales fell more than the street had expected.

This week’s earnings reports were highlighted by major US banks. Looking ahead to early next week, IBM is expected to release results on Monday, while Netflix, United Airlines and Chipotle Mexican Grill will release results on Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC she expects “several months of rapid inflation” before price pressures begin to ease. “I’m not saying it’s a one-month phenomenon. But I think in the medium term we’ll see inflation return to normal levels. But of course we have to keep a close eye. Yellen told CNBC’s Sara Eisen in an interview, which aired after Thursday’s closing bell.

The latest consumer and producer price indices, released earlier this week, beat Wall Street expectations, showing that the rebound in inflation during the pandemic recovery of the US economy remained present in June.

In the boiling housing market, Yellen said it was a “very different phenomenon” from the housing bubble that erupted around the 2008 financial crisis. However, she said, ” I am concerned about the affordability and the pressures that rising house prices will place on families who are buying a first home or have less income. “

The United States plans to issue a warning to American companies about “what can happen” in Hong Kong as the Chinese government exerts more influence over the semi-autonomous region, President Joe Biden said Thursday. Biden said the situation in the Asian financial center was “deteriorating” and criticized Beijing for “failing to keep its commitment” to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Reuters reported that the Biden administration was preparing a series of sanctions against Chinese government officials for their role in suppressing democracy in Hong Kong.

The actions planned by the Biden administration reflect the lingering tensions in US-China relations, which were also freezing under then-President Donald Trump.

Intel shares rose about 0.6% in pre-market trading on Friday, following the Wall Street Journal report that the semiconductor company is in talks to acquire GlobalFoundries for around $ 30 billion. . But the newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Intel’s potential deal for the US-based chipmaker may not materialize. GlobalFoundries, which is owned by Mubadala Investment Company, a UAE sovereign wealth fund, has reportedly explored a successful initial public offering.

Intel, under new CEO Pat Gelsinger, plans to invest billions in building two chip factories in Arizona and launch a new foundry unit. An influential company in Silicon Valley history, Intel has lagged behind Asian rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in recent years.

Los Angeles County, the largest in the country, is forcing people to wear face masks indoors again due to an increase in coronavirus cases, driven by the highly transmissible delta variant. The mandate, which also applies to people vaccinated against Covid, comes into force before midnight Saturday.

LA County dropped its mask requirement for fully vaccinated people about a month ago, coinciding with the lifting of most of its most pandemic era restrictions by the state of California. County public health official Dr Muntu Davis said Thursday he was now witnessing “substantial community transmission”. The majority of cases are recorded in people who have not received the Covid vaccine.

Coronavirus cases in the United States overall have increased recently, as public health officials around the world worry about the delta variant.

Fixed: An earlier version distorted the Nasdaq win streak. It’s three weeks.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest pandemic news with CNBC’s coronavirus coverage.