Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

Following the rally seen in the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by just 0.1 percent.

Traders may take a breather following the surge during Thursday’s trading, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

With the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut now in the rearview mirror, traders may also be questioning what will be the next catalyst for the markets.

A lack of major U.S. economic data is also likely to keep traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports next week.

While the Fed has already signaled plans to continue lowering rates in the coming months, the data could still impact market sentiment.

Reports on durable goods orders, new home sales and consumer confidence are likely to attract attention next week along with a report on personal income and spending that includes the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

After ending Wednesday’s session moderately lower following late-day volatility, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels late in the trading session but remained firmly positive. The Dow jumped 522.09 points or 1.3 percent to 42,025.19, the Nasdaq soared 440.68 points or 2.5 percent to 18,013.96 and the S&P 500 surged 95.38 points or 1.7 percent to 5,713.64.

In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leapt by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has slid by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.30 to $71.65 a barrel after jumping $1.04 to $71.95 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $16 to $2,614.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $28.60 to $2,643.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 143.91 yen versus the 142.62 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1168 compared to yesterday’s $1.1161.