On a lean day of economic announcements, the Industrial Production and the Housing Starts data might be important for investors on Friday.
Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading higher.
In the Asian trading session, the dollar weakened, while oil and gold were poised for weekly gains.
Initial trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately positive.
As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were up 165.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 20.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 93.50 points.
The U.S. major averages finished lower on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day in the red by sliding 172.94 points or 0.9 percent to 19,338.29. The Dow dipped 68.42 points or 0.2 percent to 43,153.13 and the S&P 500 slipped 12.57 points or 0.2 percent to 5,937.34.
On the economic front, the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Housing Starts and Permits for December will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 1.32 million, while it was up 1.28 million in the prior month.
The Fed’s Industrial Production for December will be published at 9.15 am ET. The consensus is up 0.3 percent, while it was down 0.1 percent in the previous month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 800, while the U.S. rig count was 584.
The Treasury Internation Capital data for November is scheduled at 4.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the Net Long-Term Securities Transactions was $152.3 billion.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index ended 0.18 percent higher at 3,241.82. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was slightly up by 0.31 percent at 19,584.06.
Japanese markets fell slightly. The Nikkei average dropped 0.31 percent to 38,451.46 while the broader Topix index settled 0.33 percent lower at 2,679.42.
Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.20 percent at 8,310.40. The broader All Ordinaries index slipped 0.14 percent to 8,557.40.
European shares are trading mostly higher. CAC 40 of France is gaining 76.54 points or 1.00 percent. DAX of Germany is progressing 196.91 points or 0.95 percent. FTSE 100 of England is adding 103.47 points or 1.23 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 44.04 points or 0.37 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.75 percent.
Business News
Wall Street Targets To Open Positive
2025-01-17 12:49:14
