Reactions to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, and the Wholesale Inventories might be the major focus on Friday.
Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading broadly higher.
Initial pre-trading trends on the U.S. Futures Index point to mostly higher open for Wall Street.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 24.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 2.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were declining 17.75 points.
The U.S. major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels on Thursday. The Dow climbed 271.58 points or 0.8 percent to 35,064.25, the Nasdaq advanced 114.58 points or 0.8 percent to 14,895.12 and the S&P 500 rose 26.44 points or 0.6 percent to 4,429.10.
On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Employment Situation for July will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 900,000, while it was 850,000 in the prior month. The unemployment rate is expected to increase 5.7 percent, while it was 5.9 percent.
The Commerce Department’s Wholesale Inventories (Preliminary) for June will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase o f0.8 percent, while it was up 1.3 percent in the prior month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is scheduled at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North American rig count was 641, while the U.S. rig count was up 488.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday. Chinese shares ended a tad lower amid virus and regulatory woes. The benchmark Shanghai Composite dipped 8.32 points, or 0.24 percent, to 3,458.23 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended marginally lower at 26, 179.40.
Japanese shares eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average inched up 91.92 points, or 0.33 percent, to 27,820. 04 while the broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 1,929.34.
Australian markets ended at a record high. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 27.30 points, or 0.36 percent, to 7,538.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 26.90 points, or 0.35 percent, at 7,806.50.
European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 16.92 points or 0.84 percent. The German DAX is gaining 21.46 points or 0.14 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 3.84 points or 0.05 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is down 13.88 points or 0.11 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.24 percent.
Business News
Wall Street Aims To Open Moderately Higher
2021-08-06 12:17:05
