Stock Futures Pause After S&P 500 Hits Record

U.S. stock futures crept lower, putting the S&P 500 on course to break a seven-day winning streak that included a fresh record high.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 edged down 0.1% Friday. The broad market index inched higher to a record close Thursday, eclipsing a September peak. Technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.5% Friday and futures tied to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat.

Stocks have risen in recent days on strong earnings, shaking off concerns about inflation and supply-chain problems that threaten the post-pandemic economic recovery. Nearly nine out of 10 U.S. companies that have reported earnings have beaten Wall Street expectations, said Mike Bell, a strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

American Express and Honeywell International were among the companies set to report earnings ahead of the opening bell Friday.

China Evergrande Group, the heavily indebted property giant whose potential default had spooked markets, made an overdue interest payment to international bondholders, Chinese state-owned media reported Friday. The payment allowed the company to stave off default and helped ease investors’ broader concerns about China’s property sector.

Evergrande’s shares rose almost 5% Friday, while the Lippo Select HK & Mainland Property index rose more than 3%. “We think the market priced in more bad news than was likely to come to fruition,” Mr. Bell said.

Eurozone manufacturing activity largely held up in October, although service sector activity was weaker than economists had forecast, purchasing data out Friday showed. U.S. manufacturing and services purchasing managers index for October, due at 9:45 a.m. ET., are expected to show little change from September.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose to 1.687% Friday from 1.674% Thursday, its highest close in five months. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

In commodity markets, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark edged down 0.3% to $84.40 a barrel. Gold prices rose 0.7% to $1,793.40 a troy ounce.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600, rose 0.3% led by its technology sector. Asian stock markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%, while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%.