WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the pullback 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 for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.4 percent.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is likely to benefit from a surge by shares of Broadcom (AVGO), as the chipmaker is soaring by 17.5 percent in pre-market trading.
The spike by Broadcom comes after the company reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings and said it expects continued strong demand for its custom AI chips.
Stocks may also benefit from optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, although traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about future rate cuts.
Recent data showing inflation remains sticky has led to worries the Fed will lower rates slower than previously anticipated next year.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 96.4 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point next week but a 74.6 percent chance the central bank will then leave rates unchanged in late January.
On the inflation front, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged higher in the month of November.
The Labor Department said import prices crept up by 0.1 percent in November, matching the downwardly revised uptick in October.
Economists had expected import prices to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said export prices were unchanged in November after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in October.
Export prices were expected to slip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.8 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
Stocks recovered from an early pullback during trading on Thursday but moved back to the downside over the course of the session. With the downward move, the Dow closed lower for the sixth consecutive session.
The major averages fell to new lows for the session going into the close of trading. The Dow slid 234.44 points or 0.5 percent to 43,914.12, the Nasdaq declined 132.05 points or 0.7 percent to 19,902.84 and the S&P 500 fell 32.94 points or 0.5 percent to 6,051.25.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dove by 2.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have shown modest moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.37 to $70.39 a barrel after falling $0.27 to $70.02 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plummeting $47.30 to $2,709.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $25.90 to $2,683.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.30 yen versus the 152.63 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0516 compared to yesterday's $1.0468.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
