Futures Pointing To Mixed Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open on Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, but the Dow futures down by 0.2 percent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is likely to benefit from an advance by shares of Netflix (NFLX), as the streaming giant is surging by 6.6 percent in pre-market trading.

The jump by Netflix comes after the company reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a drop by shares of American Express (AXP) is likely to weigh on the Dow, with the credit card giant slumping by 2.1 percent in pre-market trading.

American Express may come under pressure after reporting third quarter earnings that beat expectations but weaker than expected revenues.

Fellow Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG) may also moved to the downside after the household goods maker reported fiscal first quarter revenues that missed estimates.

Stocks saw modest strength for much of the session on Thursday before giving back ground late in the trading day to close roughly flat. The Dow still managed to reach a new record closing high.

The Dow ended the day up 161.35 points or 0.4 percent at 43,239.05, while the Nasdaq crept up 6.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,373.61 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.00 point or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,841.47.

Strength among semiconductor stocks supported the markets for much of the session before a late-day pullback, although the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index still ended the day up by 1.0 percent.

The strength in the sector came after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) reported a sharp increase in third quarter profits.

The strong results from TSMC offset concerns about the outlook for semiconductor demand following a warning from Dutch chipmaker ASML (ASML) earlier in the week.

“The fate of the global stock market hinged on TSMC’s results and fortunately everything is fine in AI land,” says Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in September after edging up by 0.1 percent in August. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3 percent.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.2 percent in August. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 12th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 241,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 260,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 260,000 from the 258,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected pullback, jobless claims gave back ground after reaching their highest level since hitting 261,000 in the week ended June 17, 2023.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. fell by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The Fed said industrial production decreased by 0.3 percent in September after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in August.

Economists had expected industrial production to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The slightly bigger than expected decline by industrial production partly reflected a strike at Boeing (BA) and the effects of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are slipping $0.15 to $70.52 a barrel after rising $0.28 to $70.67 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $16.20 to $2,707.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $23.40 to $2,730.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.84 yen versus the 150.21 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0855 compared to yesterday’s $1.0831.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as a slew of Chinese data backed calls for more stimulus.

The yen was little changed after Japan’s key inflation gauge slowed in September for the first time in five months but an index excluding the effect of fuel held steady, keeping the Bank of Japan on track to raise interest rates further.

Gold continued to trade with a positive bias, climbing above $2,700 per ounce despite a surge by U.S. yields and dollar after the release of upbeat retail sales data.

Oil edged up slightly but was on track for its biggest weekly loss in over a month.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 2.9 percent to 3,261.56 as the country’s major commercial banks cut their deposit rates for a second time this year and the central bank officially launched a swap facility aimed at boosting the equity market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked 3.6 percent to 20,804.11, getting a lift from technology shares after Taiwanese chipmaker and Nvidia supplier TSMC posted forecast-beating earnings.

Chinese GDP grew 4.6 percent on a yearly basis in the third quarter, official data showed earlier in the day. This was the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2023.

Industrial production surged 5.4 percent in September and retail sales growth improved to 3.2 percent from 2.1 percent in the previous month, while property investment contracted 10.1 percent from a year ago, separate data revealed.

Japanese markets ended slightly higher as the yen wakened beyond 150 per dollar. The Bank of Japan must focus on the economic impact of unstable markets and risks from overseas, Governor Kazuo Ueda said today, suggesting the central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates further.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.2 percent to 38,981.75, while the broader Topix Index finished marginally higher at 2,688.98.

Seoul stocks fell for a third straight session due to continued selling by foreign investors. The Kospi shed 0.6 percent to close at 2,593.82. SK Hynix plunged 4.4 percent and Hanmi Semiconductor plummeted 10.4 percent.

Australian markets ended notably lower after setting a new record high the previous day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.9 percent to 8,283.20, dragged down by miners and technology stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.9 percent lower at 8,551.20.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 12,823.89.

Europe

European shares are turning in a mixed performance on Friday, a day after the European Central Bank cut its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent, citing sluggish economic growth and easing inflation.

According to its quarterly survey of professional forecasters, the ECB sees inflation falling to 1.9 percent in 2025 from a previous forecast of 2 percent. The projections for 2024 and 2026 were kept unchanged at 2.4 percent and 1.9 percent.

The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is down 0.2 percent in the lead-up to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s first budget on October 30, where tax increases and spending cuts amounting to £40 billion are expected.

In corporate news, Swedish truck maker Volvo has risen despite posting a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly adjusted earnings and forecasting stagnant demand next year.

British luxury brand Burberry has also jumped in London after official data showed U.K. retail sales logged unexpected growth in September on higher sales of technology products.

Retail sales grew 0.3 percent on month in September, confounding expectations for a 0.3 percent fall. This marked the third consecutive increase.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore has also surged after China’s major commercial banks cut their deposit rates for a second time this year and the country’s central bank officially launched a swap facility aimed at boosting the equity market.

Meanwhile, British American Tobacco shares have tumbled after the company said it aims to settle ongoing lawsuits in Canada through a court-mediated plan.

Stratec SE shares have also slumped. The German maker of analyzer and automation systems for In-Vitro-Diagnostic reported that preliminary consolidated sales for the first nine months of 2024 declined to 176.3 million euros from 187.7 million euros last year.

U.S. Economic Reports

After reporting a sharp increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a modest pullback by housing starts in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said housing starts fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.354 million in September after spiking by 7.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.361 million in August.

Economists had expected housing starts to dip by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.350 million from the 1.356 million originally reported for the previous month.

The report also showed a sharp pullback by building permits, which tumbled by 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.428 million in September after surging by 4.6 percent to a revised rate of 1.470 million in August.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to slump by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.460 million from the 1.475 million originally reported for the previous month.

At 9:30 am ET, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is scheduled to give a lecture before high school students as part of a Mississippi Council on Economic Education event.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is due to moderate a morning keynote policy panel before the “Macroeconomic Policy Perspectives: Banking, Regulation, and Macroeconomic Outcomes” conference at 10 am ET.

At 12:10 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak on “Decentralized Finance” before the Nineteenth Annual Vienna Macroeconomics Workshop.

Bostic is due to speak on the economic outlook, importance of financial literacy and economic education before a Mississippi Council on Economic Education Forum on American Enterprise luncheon at 12:30 pm ET.