Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Friday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the upward move seen over the course of the previous session.

Traders may take a breather following the volatility seen over the past few sessions, which has seen the major averages fluctuate considerably but remain on pace for a positive week.

A relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front may keep traders on the sidelines, although the University of Michigan is due to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of November.

The consumer sentiment index for November is expected to be upward revised to 73.7 from the preliminary reading of 73.0, which was up from 70.5 in October.

More closely watched economic data is due to be released next week, including readings on consumer price inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve.

Among individual stocks, shares of Gap (GAP) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the apparel retailer reported better than expected third quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance.

Data technology company NetApp (NTAP) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting fiscal second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, shares of Intuit (INTU) may move to the downside after the financial software company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

Stocks saw considerable volatility early in the session on Thursday but moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages all finished the day in positive territory, with the Dow posting a standout gain.

The Dow jumped 461.88 points or 1.1 percent to 43,870.35 and the S&P 500 climbed 31.60 points or 0.5 percent to 5,948.71, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a much more modest gain, inching up 6.28 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,972.42.

The sharp increase by the Dow came amid strong gains by IBM Corp. (IBM), Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Salesforce (CRM).

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session as traders tracked the performance of AI darling Nvidia (NVDA). Shares of Nvidia fluctuated as the day progressed before eventually ending the day up by 0.5 percent.

Nvidia reported better than expected third quarter earnings and revenues, but some traders expressed concerns about slowing revenue growth and a quarter-on-quarter decline by gross margins.

A steep drop by shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) limited the upside for the Nasdaq on news the Justice Department has urged a federal judge to force a sale of the Google parent’s Chrome web browser.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in over six months last week.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 213,000 in the week ended November 16th, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 219,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 209,000 in the week ended April 27th.

Meanwhile, a reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by slightly more than expected in the month of October, the Conference Board revealed in a separate report.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index slid by 0.4 percent in October after dipping by a revised 0.3 percent in September.

Economists had expected the leading economic index to fall by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.5 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

“Apart from possible temporary impacts of hurricanes, the US LEI continued to suggest challenges to economic activity ahead,” said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board.

Computer hardware stocks showed a strong move back to the upside following yesterday’s pullback, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring by 4.2 to its best closing level in a month.

A sharp increase by the price of crude oil also contributed to substantial strength among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent surge by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Networking stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent.

Utilities, banking, and natural gas stocks also saw considerable strength, while some weakness was visible among airline stocks.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.41 to $69.69 a barrel after jumping $1.35 to $70.10 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after leaping $23.20 to $2,674.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $21.10 to $2,696 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.21 yen versus the 154.54 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0432 compared to yesterday’s $1.0474.

Asia

Asian markets broadly rallied and remained insulated from turbulence in China’s stock markets. Market sentiment in Japan improved considerably after headline inflation slowed to a nine-month low.

However, weak corporate earnings, worries about economic growth as well as concerns about the efficacy and sufficiency of stimulus measures contributed to a sell-off in mainland China and Hong Kong.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled more than 3 percent to finish trading at 3,267.19. The day’s trading ranged between 3,372.00 and 3,267.19. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged 3.5 percent to close at 10,438.72.

The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also slumped 1.9 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 19,229.97. The day’s trading range was between a high of 19,711.40 and a low of 19,134.59.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rebounded 0.7 percent to close at 38,146.98. The day’s trading range was between 38,420.63 and 38,085.13.

Credit Saison surged 6.2 percent. Mitsui Chemicals rallied more than 5 percent. Resonac Holdings Corp., Yokogawa Electric Corp. and Obayashi Corp. all gained more than 4 percent.

Taiyo Yuden, Suzuki Motor Corp. and IHI Corp. all slipped more than 2 percent. Omron Corp. and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings both declined more than 1 percent.

The Korean Stock Exchange’s Kospi Index added 0.8 percent to close trading at 2,501.24. The day’s trading range was between 2,492.21 and 2,511.23.

Australia’s S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 8,393.80, gaining 0.9 percent from the previous close of 8,323.00 The day’s trading range was between 8,323.00 and 8,416.40.

New Zealand-headquartered The A2 Milk Company surged 13 percent after the company announced plans to pay dividends for the first time in its 20-year history. Deep Yellow rallied 6.3 percent. Paladin Energy, Yancoal Australia and Sigma Healthcare all gained more than 5 percent.

Wisetech Global plunged 12.4 percent after providing its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance. Megaport followed with a loss of 9.5 percent. Pilbara Minerals declined 6.8 percent. Audinate Group slid 5.5 percent whereas NextDC lost 3.7 percent.

The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange jumped 2.2 percent to close trading at 13,041.90, versus the previous close of 12,765.24. Trading ranged between 12,765.24 and 13,054.69.

A2 Milk spiked more than 18 percent after the company upgraded its revenue outlook and announced plans to pay dividends for the first time in its 20-year history. EROAD rallied 6.7 percent followed by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare that gained 4.3 percent. Fletcher Building and Kiwi Property Group both gained more than 3 percent.

Oceania Healthcare tumbled 5 percent followed by KMD Brands that declined 4.7 percent. Vital Healthcare Property Trust and Tourism Holdings both lost more than 2 percent. ANZ Group Holdings also shed close to 2 percent in the day’s trading.

Europe

The major European markets have moved mostly higher on Friday, with investors reacting to regional economic data and corporate news in addition to following developments on the geopolitical front.

Data showing an increase in consumer confidence is aiding sentiment in the U.K. market, where the benchmark FTSE 100 Index is jumping 1.1 percent. The GfK Consumer Confidence Index in the United Kingdom increased by 3 points to -18 in November 2024, marking its first improvement in three months.

Germany’s DAX Index is also up by 0.6 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the pan European Stoxx 600 Index is up 0.9 percent.

In the U.K. market, B&M European Value Retail is rising more than 4.5 percent. Diploma, Barratt Redrow, Vistry Group, J Sainsbury, National Grid, Endeavour Mining and Spirax-Sarco Engineering are up 3 to 4 percent.

Persimmon, United Utilities, Land Securities, British Land Company, BT, Croda International, Berkeley Group Holdings, Hikma, AstraZeneca, Marks & Spencer, Taylor Wimpey, Hiscox, Severn Trent, Mondi, Sage Group, Experian and Reckitt Benckiser are gaining 2 to 3 percent.

Games Workshop Group Plc shares are zooming nearly 17 percent on hopes the company’s strong results will help get the stock into the FTSE 100 index.

Barclays, Standard Chartered, Natwest Group and Lloyds Banking Group are down 2 to 3.5 percent. HSBC Holdings is down nearly 1 percent.

In the German market, Brenntag, Sartorius and Vonovia are up 5 percent 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. Zalando, E.ON, Rheinmetall, Symrise, Qiagen and Fresenius Medical Care are gaining 1.5 to 3.2 percent.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are declining 3.7 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. Puma is down 3.3 percent and Daimler Truck Holding is lower by about 1.1 percent.

In the French market, Eurofins Scientific, Unibail Rodamco, Publicis Groupe, Teleperformance, Sanofi and Orange are up 1 to 2 percent.

STMicroElectronics is notably higher after the company announced a partnership with Chinese chipmaker Hua Hong.

Thales is down more than 6.5 percent, weighed down by reports that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office has opened an investigation into the company over alleged bribery and corruption.

In economic news, U.K. private sector activity deteriorated for the first time in just over a year in November as growth in new business eased amid weak business confidence, flash survey results published by S&P Global revealed. The flash composite output index dropped to 49.9 in November from 51.8 in October.

U.K. retail sales dropped 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in October, in contrast to the revised 0.1 percent rise in September, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Sales were expected to fall 0.3 percent.

The German economy grew marginally in the third quarter after a contraction, with the GDP recording a sequential growth of 0.1 percent, revised data from Destatis showed. The rate was downgraded from 0.2 percent estimated on October 30.

Germany’s private sector continued to contract in November as sustained weakness in manufacturing output was compounded by the first fall in services activity for nine months, flash Purchasing Managers’ survey compiled by S&P Global showed.

The HCOB composite output index dropped to 47.3 in November from 48.6 in the previous month. The score signaled acceleration in the rate of decline in activity to the quickest since February.

Services business activity fell into contraction for the first time in nine months in November. The services PMI registered 49.4, down from 51.6 in the previous month. The expected score was 51.8. Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI advanced to a four-month high of 43.2 from 43.0 in the previous month. The reading was slightly above forecast of 43.1.

France’s private sector contracted the most since January as prolonged weakness in demand damped expectations, flash survey results from S&P Global showed. The flash HCOB composite output index fell markedly to 44.8 in November from 48.1 in October.

The services Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped more-than-expected to 45.7 from 49.2 in the previous month. The score was seen at 49.0. The factory PMI posted 43.2, which was down from 44.5 in October. The indicator was expected to edge up to 44.6.

U.S. Economic News

The University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of November at 10 am ET.

The consumer sentiment index for November is expected to be upward revised to 73.7 from the preliminary reading of 73.0, which was up from 70.5 in October.

At 6:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is due to speak on artificial intelligence before the 27th Annual Symposium on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century.