Earlier trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive on Friday. Existing Home Sales and Consumer Sentiment reports might be of interest to investors.
Geopolitical developments also are keenly watched by investors. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the establishment of a Palestinian State as mooted by the U.S. and other allies. The war that started on October 7 has killed 25000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Oil prices were trending up in the Asian trading session, in response to global oil demand and a decline in the U.S. crude stockpiles last week.
Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading broadly higher.
As of 7.25 am ET, the Dow futures were up 144.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 21.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 116.50 points.
The U.S. major averages closed firmly in positive territory on Thursday. The Nasdaq surged 200.03 points or 1.4 percent to 15,055.65, the S&P 500 advanced 41.73 points or 0.9 percent to 4,780.93 and the S&P 500 climbed 201.94 points or 0.5 percent to 37,468.61.
On the economic front, the Existing Home Sales for December will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus for annual rate is up 3.82 million, while it was at 3.82 million in November.
The Consumer Sentiment for January will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 69.2, while it was up 69.7 in the prior month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 832 and the U.S. rig count was 619.
The Treasury International Capital for November will be issued at 4.00 pm ET. In October, the Net Long-Term Securities Transaction were $3.3 billion.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will make a public speech at 11.15 pm ET. She will be speaking at 4.15 pm ET.
Michael Barr, vice chair of Fed Reserve, will be speaking at 1.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.47 percent to 2,832.28.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.54 percent to 15,308.69.
Japanese shares gained. The Nikkei average rallied 1.40 percent to 35,963.27 while the broader Topix index settled 0.72 percent higher at 2,510.03.
Australian markets snapped a five-day losing streak, with miners, financials, and energy stocks pacing the gainers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.02 percent to close at 7,421.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 1.01 percent higher at 7,652.30.
European shares are trading mostly higher. CAC 40 of France is down 0.84 points or 0.01 percent. DAX of Germany is adding 27.10 points or 0.17 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 50.85 points or 0.17 percent. Swiss Market Index is down 0.75 points or 0.01 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.19 percent.
Business News
Wall Street Set To Open Positive
2024-01-19 12:42:38
