Activity in the bond markets may continue to drive trading on Wall Street on Friday after contributing to the sell-off seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 10 points.
The advance by the futures comes as treasury yields are giving back ground following the spike seen during trading on Thursday.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has pulled back below 1.7 percent after soaring to its highest closing level in over a year.
After ending the previous session at its highest closing level since last summer, the thirty-year bond yield has also shown a notable move to the downside.
The pullback in bond yields may inspire traders to pick up stocks at reduced levels, with bargain hunting potentially contributing to considerable strength among tech stocks.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.
Among individual stocks, shares of FedEx (FDX) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the delivery giant reported fiscal third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, athletic apparel and footwear giant Nike (NKE) may come under pressure after reporting fiscal third quarter earnings that beat expectations but weaker than expected revenues.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Thursday, with the Dow eventually joining the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 in negative territory as the day progressed. The Nasdaq showed a particularly steep drop amid a sell-off by technology stocks.
The major averages all closed in negative territory, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts by a wide margin. The Nasdaq plunged 409.03 points or 3 percent to 13,116.17, while the Dow fell 153.07 points or 0.5 percent to 32,862.30 and the S&P 500 slumped 58.66 points or 1.5 percent to 3,915.46.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dove by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has slumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.8 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.38 to $59.62 a barrel after plummeting $4.60 to $60 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after rising $5.40 to $1,732.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $7 to $1,739.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.86 yen versus the 108.89 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1899 compared to yesterday’s $1.1915.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground After Yesterday’s Sell-Off
2021-03-19 12:51:19
