In a day marked by limited economic data releases, market activity may remain relatively subdued this Friday. Current indications from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street is poised for a lower opening.
As of 7:50 AM ET, Dow futures have decreased by 138.00 points, S&P 500 futures have fallen 20.75 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures are down by 69.75 points.
On Thursday, the major U.S. indices ended the day with slight changes. The Dow inched up by 28.77 points, representing a 0.1% rise to 43,325.80. Conversely, the Nasdaq declined by 10.77 points, or 0.1%, closing at 20,020.37, while the S&P 500 experienced a marginal drop of 2.45 points, equating to less than 0.1%, settling at 6,037.59.
Looking at today's economic highlights, the International Trade in Goods (Advance) report for November is set to be published at 8:30 AM ET. The forecast anticipates a deficit of $101.0 billion, increasing from October's $99.1 billion gap. Concurrently, the Retail Inventories (Advance) for November will be available, building on the prior month's 0.1% increase. The Wholesale Inventories (Advance) also due at 8:30 AM ET, is predicted to rise by 0.1%, compared to a 0.2% uptick noted in October.
Furthermore, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to release its Natural Gas Report at 10:30 AM ET, following a previous week's decline of 125 billion cubic feet in gas stocks. Additionally, the EIA's Petroleum Status Report is anticipated at 1:00 PM ET, reflecting last week's drop of 0.9 million barrels in crude oil inventories and a 2.3 million barrel increase in gasoline inventories.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count, another critical indicator, will be released at 1:00 PM ET. Last week's data showed a North American rig count of 755, with the U.S. contributing 589 of those rigs.
In Asia, stock market performance was mixed on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index saw a slight uptick, ending at 3,400.14, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed flat, albeit with a negative tilt, at 20,090.46. Japanese markets, however, experienced a rally—the Nikkei average surged by 1.80%, reaching 40,281.16, while the broader Topix index increased by 1.26% to close at 2,801.68. Meanwhile, in Australia, the markets closed higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 increasing by 0.5% to 8,261.80 and the All Ordinaries index rising by 0.57% to end at 8,520.10. New Zealand's S&P/NZX-50 index also saw a notable gain, climbing 1% to 13,205.10.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
