U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Yesterday’s Sell-Off

Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC).

Shares of Amazon are surging by 6.9 percent in pre-market trading after the online retail giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Semiconductor giant Intel is also soaring by 7.4 percent in pre-market trading after reporting better than expected third quarter results and providing strong guidance.

Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) may also move to the upside after the oil giant reported third quarter earnings that beat expectations.

On the other hand, shares of Apple (AAPL) are seeing some pre-market weakness even though the tech giant reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results.

The futures remained firmly positive after the Labor Department released a closely watched report showing much weaker than expected job growth in the month of October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment crept up by 12,000 jobs in October after jumping by a downwardly revised 223,000 jobs in September.

Economists had expected employment to climb by 113,000 jobs compared to the surge of 254,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from September and in line with economist estimates.

While the data may raise some concerns about the strength of the economy, the report may also lead to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is due to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of October. The ISM’s manufacturing PMI is expected to inch up to 47.6 in October from 47.2 in September, but a reading below 50 would still indicate contraction.

The Commerce Department is also scheduled to release its report on construction spending in the month of September. Construction spending is expected to come in unchanged in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August.

After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks continued to see considerable weakness throughout the trading day on Thursday. The Nasdaq saw a particularly steep drop on the day amid a sell-off by technology stocks.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq plunged 512.78 points or 2.8 percent to 18,095.15, the S&P 500 tumbled 108.22 points or 1.9 percent to 5,705.45 and the Dow slumped 378.08 points or 0.9 percent to 41,763.46.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dove by 2.6 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index bucked the downtrend and jumped by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.67 to $70.93 a barrel after climbing $0.65 to $69.26 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plunging $51.50 to $2,749.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $16.90 to $2,766.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 151.97 yen versus the 152.03 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0898 compared to yesterday’s $1.0884.

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