U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged six-session winning streaks, as a spate of encouraging economic data fueled a broad rebound led by heavyweight tech and growth stocks.
The benchmark index has recovered from a pullback earlier this month caused by a dour U.S. jobs report and the yen carry trade as better-than-expected data calmed nerves over a sharp slowdown in the world’s largest economy.
U.S. consumer and producer prices data this week indicated inflation was moderating at a pace that would keep the U.S. Federal Reserve on track to start its monetary easing cycle with a 25-basis point rate cut next month as opposed to a more aggressive move.
The U.S. central bank is now expected to track the labor market trends more closely.
Market participants will look to minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s outlook on the U.S. economy at the Jackson Hole symposium, an annual gathering of global central bankers, next week for more clues on the rate cut trajectory.
At 5:30 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 46 points or 0.11%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.11% to 5,573.75 points and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 47.5 points, or 0.24%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were headed for their best weeks since October, while the Dow was on pace for its best weekly showing since December.
Later in the day, the University of Michigan will issue its consumer sentiment survey for August around 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).
Remarks from Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee will also be watched a day after two more Fed officials – St. Louis Fed chief Alberto Musalem and Atlanta Fed boss Raphael Bostic – on Thursday gravitated toward an interest rate cut in September.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) dropped 2.8% in premarket trading following a strong jump ahead of its results. The chip-making equipment firm forecast fourth-quarter revenue slightly above Wall Street estimates.
Crypto- and blockchain-related firms firmed as bitcoin rose 3%. Miners Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) and Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) gained 2.3% and 1.8% respectively, while iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF added 2.4%.
Overall, U.S. stock trading volume has been below its 20-day moving average in the past six sessions as many investors are away for summer break.
(Source: ReutersReuters)
