Wall Street Set To Open Positive

Friday’s trading might be impacted by reaction to reports on retail sales, import and export prices, and consumer sentiment.

Asian shares finished higher, while European shares are trading positive.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.
As of 7.51 am ET, the Dow futures were up 163.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 17.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 52.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Thursday. The Dow jumped 534.75 points or 1.6 percent to 34,912.56, the Nasdaq surged 251.79 points or 1.7 percent to 14,832.43 and the S&P 500 shot up 74.46 points or 1.7 percent to 4,438.26.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department’s Retail Sales for September will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 0.1 percent, while it was up 0.7 percent in the previous month.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index for October will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 25.0, while it was up 34.3 in the previous month.

The Labor Department’s Import and Export Price for September will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.6 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in August.

The Commerce Department’s Business Inventories for August will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.7 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in the prior month.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment for October will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 74.0, while it was 72.8 in the previous month.

Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is scheduled at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 700 and the U.S. Rig Count was 533.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams to participate in “Monetary Policy and Macroeconomic Stars” panel before “Conference on Real-Time Data Analysis, Methods and Applications” organized by the Banque de France at 12.20 pm ET.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard to speak on Optimal Monetary Policy for the Masses before Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute Fall 2021 Institute Research Conference at 11.45 am ET.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index edged up 14.09 points, or 0.40 percent, to 3,572.37 as investors awaited third-quarter GDP figures as well as monthly investment and activity figures for directional cues.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rallied 368.37 points, or 1.48 percent, to 25,330.96 as markets returned from a one-day break.

Japanese shares rose on Friday. The Nikkei average jumped 517.70 points, or 1.81 percent, to 29,068.63, posting its first weekly gain in four. The broader Topix index closed 1.86 percent higher at 2,023.93.

Australian markets ended notably higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 50.30 points, or 0.69 percent, to 7,362 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 54 points, or 0.71 percent, at 7,674.20.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is adding 28.62 points or 0.43 percent. The German DAX is progressing 52.07 points or 0.34 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 15.66 points or 0.22 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is gaining 37.00 points or 0.31 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.42 percent.

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