U.S. Stocks Poised To Extend Recovery From Yesterday’s Early Sell-Off

Stocks appear poised to move to the upside in early trading on Friday, extending the recovery from the sell-off seen early in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 98 points.

Continued optimism about more fiscal stimulus may contribute to strength on Wall Street, as new Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged lawmakers to approve President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package.

Yellen suggested during an interview with CNBC on Thursday that the Biden administration’s proposal could help the U.S. get back to full employment within a year.

The former Federal Reserve Chair also dismissed Republican complaints about the size of the proposed bill, arguing, “The price of doing too little is much higher than the price of doing something big.”

The comments from Yellen come after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said House Democrats aim to pass their version of the $1.9 trillion relief bill before the end of the month.

Democrats have been hoping to pass a new stimulus bill with Republican support but may be forced to use the process known as reconciliation to approve a relief package without GOP votes.

Traders have generally remained optimistic about more stimulus under Biden and the Democrat-controlled Congress, helping propel stocks to new record highs.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on existing home sales in the month of January. Existing home sales are expected to slump by 1.5 percent.

After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but still closed in negative territory. With the drop on the day, the Dow pulled back off Wednesday’s record closing high.

The major averages finished the day well off their lows but stuck in the red. The Dow fell 119.68 points or 0.4 percent to 31,493.34, the Nasdaq slid 100.14 points or 0.7 percent to 13,865.36 and the S&P 500 dropped 17.36 points or 0.4 percent to 3,913.97.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.8 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $1.09 to $59.43 a barrel after sliding $0.62 to $60.52 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after inching up $2.20 to $1,775 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $7 to $1,768 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 105.45 yen versus the 105.69 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.2128 compared to yesterday’s $1.2092.