Wall Street Aims To Open Positive

On a lean day of economic announcements, the developments on the tariff front are closely watched by investors on Friday.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are all positive. In the Asian trading hours, the dollar was broadly firm. Gold was slightly lower, while oil prices jumped more than 1 percent.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were up 208.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were progressing 47.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 225.25 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Thursday firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 345.44 points or 2.0 percent to 17,303.01, the S&P 500 slumped 77.78 points or 1.4 percent to 5,521.52 and the Dow dove 537.36 points or 1.3 percent to 40,813.57.

On the economic front, the Consumer Sentiment for March will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 64.0, while it was up 64.7 in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 826, while the U.S. rig count was 592.

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday. Chinese and Hong Kong markets rallied.

China’s Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.81 percent to 3,419.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.12 percent to 23,959.98.

Japanese markets rose notably. The Nikkei average climbed 0.72 percent to 37,053.10, reversing early losses. The broader Topix index settled 0.65 percent higher at 2,715.85.

Australian markets advanced. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52 percent to 7,789.70. The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.59 percent higher at 8,013.30.

European shares are trading higher. CAC 40 of France is adding 99.49 points or 1.25 percent. DAX of Germany is progressing 473.49 points or 2.10 percent. FTSE 100 of England is adding 58.21 points or 0.68 percent. The Swiss Market Index is gaining 19.38 points or 0.15 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 1.37 percent.

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