The Dow is on track to open about 250 points lower, capping off another wild week of trading. Futures indicate a 1% retreat for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq as well.
The global selloff began overnight after China reported weak economic reports that deepened worries about how tariffs are hurting growth.
"The ongoing trade war remains a headwind, truce or no truce," Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, wrote to clients on Friday.
Investors were not overly excited about positive news on the trade front. China on Friday said it will temporarily reduce tariffs on imports of American-made cars as the two nations continue to negotiate. Those tariffs were imposed in July in retaliation to US import taxes.
Global markets fell sharply on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 2%, while China's Shanghai Composite declined 1.5% and the Hang Seng lost 1.6%. In Europe, major markets lost about 1%.
"A string of disappointing economic [news] is spurring risk-off sentiment today," Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, wrote in a note.
China's retail sales decelerated in November to 8.1%, the weakest pace since 2003, according to Bannockburn. Industrial output was the slowest since 2002.
In Japan, a quarterly survey of business confidence by the Bank of Japan revealed that companies anticipate conditions to worsen in over the next three months.
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