US Stock Futures Drift Lower Ahead of July 4 Weekend

New York (July 1)  Stock futures edged lower in what likely will be a quieter session ahead of the long Independence Day weekend.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.14%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures declined 0.16%.

"We're likely going to see some skeleton crews on Wall Street as many usually take long holiday weekends to enjoy the summer around holidays," said James Stanley, currency analyst at DailyFX. "This is relevant for traders because this could mean lower levels of liquidity."

It's been a wild week for stocks. Wall Street began the week in sharp decline after the shock of Friday's pro-Brexit vote, before snapping into recovery mode. Stocks recovered from the Brexit selloff on hopes of increased monetary stimulus from the world's central banks. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney fueled those hopes on Thursday when he noted that the central bank would likely need to implement further easing.

Stocks ended the month and second quarter on a confident note on Thursday, ending the session at the day's highs. For the entire three months from April to June, the S&P 500 posted gains of nearly 2%. A major quarterly rally in crude oil prices helped to boost equities. The commodity ended the quarter with gains of 26%, its best quarterly performance since 2009, thanks to disruptions to global oil production, particularly in Canada, Nigeria and Venezuela.

Apple  (AAPL) reportedly is in talks to acquire music streaming service Tidal in a bid to bolster its own music-streaming business Apple Music, which it launched last year. Talks are ongoing, though may not result in a deal, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Unlike other streaming services, Tidal does not have a free option and instead relies on exclusive music contracts to grow subscriptions.

Source: TheStreet