The United States and China will expand trade in beef and chicken and increase access for financial firms, as part of a plan to reduce the massive U.S. trade deficit with Beijing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday.

As part of a deal that began to be negotiated between the world's two largest economies last month, the countries have agreed that China will allow imports of U.S. beef, while Chinese cooked poultry may now enter U.S. markets.

“U.S.-China relationships are now hitting a new high, especially in trade,” U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters, adding that the agreement will help to bring down the trade deficit.

After the retail sector tanked Thursday as worrisome earnings sent Macy’s crashing 17%, investors will keep a sharp eye out on data to gauge consumer strength at the beginning of the second quarter.

The Commerce Department will publish data on April retail sales at 12:30 GMT Friday. The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales rose 0.6% last month, snapping back after two straight declines.

Core sales are forecast to inch up 0.5%, after holding flat a month earlier. Rising retail sales over time correlate with stronger economic growth, while weaker sales signal a declining economy. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.

Asian stocks retreated from a near two year high on Friday, but the Shanghai Composite broke the general trend, paring its fifth weekly decline.

European equities moved slightly higher Friday after preliminary data earlier showed that German gross domestic product rose 0.6% in the first quarter, beating smaller expansions seen in the U.S., U.K. and France.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Friday as investors looked ahead to key economic reports. At 09:41 GMT, the blue-chip Dow futures lost 0.18%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.24% and the Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 0.19%.

Oil pulled back on Friday as investors took profit after two sessions of strong gains.

Crude was still headed for weekly gains of 3% on the back of a large draw in U.S. inventories and Algeria and Iraq lifted hopes that the OPEC-led supply-cut agreement would be extended beyond June, after both nations said they would support a deal extension.

European airlines and regulators are preparing for the possibility that the Trump administration could ban laptops and other large devices from the cabins of flights from Europe to the U.S. The ban could hit more than 350 flights a day.

Such a move would represent a massive expansion of a laptop ban imposed in March on airlines flying out of 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa. U.S. sources said Thursday that it was increasingly likely the ban would be expanded soon.