Wall Street Poised To Open In Negative Territory

Though there are not many economic announcements, the Monthly Jobs Data and Service Sector Activity reports might get special attention on Friday.

Even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has crossed 100 days, there are no clearcut directions to settle the differences between the two countries. Russia claims to have acquired 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.

The war has caused instability in oil and gas prices. Among the commodities. Friday, oil and gas are on a decline, at $115.90 and $8.32 respectively. Gold is slightly lower at $1,867.30. OPEC on Thursday has decided to pump in more crude oil over next two months to ease a possible supply crunch.

China is on a relief as COVID-19 restrictions are easing. In another note, Amazon said it is planning to shut down its Kindle bookstore in China.

Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading mostly positive.
Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.

As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 163 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 30.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were declining 141.50 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Thursday. The Dow jumped 435.05 points or 1.3 percent to 33,248.28, the Nasdaq spiked 322.44 points or 2.7 percent to 12,316.90 and the S&P 500 surged 75.59 points or 1.8 percent to 4,176.82.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Employment Situation for May will be announced at 8.30 am ET. The consensus for Non-farm Payrolls is 325,000, while it was up 428,000 in the prior month. The Unemployment Rate consensus is for a growth of 3.5 percent, while it grew 3.6 percent in April. The Manufacturing Payrolls for the month is expected to increase by 38,000, compared to an increase of 55,000 in the previous month. Average Hourly Earnings is projected to be up by 0.4 percent in May.

US Services Purchasing Managers’ Index or PMI Composite Final is scheduled at 9.45 am ET.

The Institute For Supply Management’s Services Index for May will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 56.3, while it was up 57.1 in April 2022.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is expected at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North American rig count was 830, and the U.S. rig count was 727.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard to participate in a discussion on modernizing the community reinvestment act: Ensuring Banks Meet the credit needs of their communities at 10.30 am ET.

In the corporate sector, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla announced a plan to cut 10 percent of jobs as the company feels “super bad” about the economy.

Asian stocks gained on Friday. Markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

Japanese shares reached a two-month high on Friday. The Nikkei average climbed 1.27 percent to 27,761.57 while the broader Topix index closed 0.35 percent higher at 1,933.14.

Australian markets climbed higher, probably on gains in the mining and technology sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.88 percent to 7,238.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 0.97 percent higher at 7,472.40.

New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index increased 0.60 percent to 11,417.34. The benchmark index jumped 3.2 percent for the week.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining by 2.14 points or 0.03 percent. The German DAX is progressing 7.26 points or 0.05 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is declining 74.71 points or 0.98 percent. The Swiss Market Index up 14.98 points or 0.12 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.14 percent.

Business News