Futures Edge Lower on Mixed Data, Euro News

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U.S. stock-index futures drifted lower on Friday as traders digested a mixed durable goods report and a handful of headlines from the eurozone.

Today's Markets

As of 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 24 points to 13015, S&P 500 futures dipped 4 points to 1396 and Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 5.8 points to 2755.

The Dow took its worst thrashing since July 20 on Thursday, sinking 115 points in its fourth-straight decline. The focus has begun shifting to the eurozone once again as plans to save the currency bloc have become more complicated.

Greece, which has received two big bailout packages, has been negotiating to push back the date at it which it needs to meet its fiscal goals. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss the program. At a press conference Merkel said Germany, the bloc's paymaster, plans on waiting for a report from the Troika on Greece's reforms before making any decisions. That could represent a stumbling block for Greece, which needs external aid to service its debt.

On the U.S. front, orders for long-lasting U.S. goods rose 4.2% in July from June, blowing past estimates of a 2.4% increase. Excluding the transportation segment, orders were down 0.4%, missing estimates of a 0.5% gain. Analysts at Nomura said the unexpectedly big jump in durable goods was partly attributable to a big increase in sales of Boeing (NYSE:BA) aircraft. Indeed, orders for non-defense aircraft surged 53.9%.

The data cover goods from microwaves to airplanes and figure into broader measures of U.S. economic output.

Gold futures pulled back after soaring to the highest level since April 12 on Thursday. The benchmark contract dipped $7.30, or 0.44%, to $1,665 a troy ounce.

Oil dropped 67 cents, or 0.7%, to $95.60 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline slumped 0.04% to $3.11 a gallon.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 dipped 0.31% to 2422, the English FTSE 100 fell 0.28% to 5761 and the German DAX slipped 0.36% to 6924.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 sold off by 1.2% to 9071 and the Chinese Hang Seng sunk 1.3% to 19880.