In the pre-market on Friday, U.S. index futures showed a moderate trend, reflecting a pause after the euphoria outbreak in the market caused by Nvidia’s rally. This event led American exchanges to climb to new heights, setting historical marks.
At 05:34 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) rose 3 points, or 0.01%. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.03%, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell back by 0.18%. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.345%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April fell by 1.22%, to $77.63 per barrel. Brent crude for April dropped 1.09%, near $82.76 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange rose by 0.45%, to $124.89 per metric ton. The benchmark iron ore for March on the Singapore Exchange went up by 0.43%, to $120.2 a ton.
During Thursday’s trading in the United States, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reached new closing highs, reflecting widespread optimism driven by positive results from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which exceeded fourth-quarter earnings expectations. The strong demand for Nvidia’s AI chips contributed to this rally, while the Nasdaq nearly beat its previous record. Moreover, an unexpected drop in unemployment insurance claims and an increase in existing home sales bolstered market sentiment. The Dow Jones closed up 456.87 points or 1.18% at 39,069.11 points. The S&P 500 advanced 105.23 points or 2.11% to 5,087.03 points. The Nasdaq soared 460.75 points or 2.96% to 16,041.62 points.
Asian exchanges mostly advanced on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei standing out by rising 2.19%, driven by Nvidia’s rally on Wall Street and economic support from Beijing. Although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng recorded a slight decline of 0.10%, indices in China, South Korea, and Australia showed modest gains, reflecting regional optimism fueled by AI innovations and favorable government policies.
European markets followed the upward trajectory, capitalizing on the momentum generated by the record closing of the pan-European index in the previous session, which reached 495.1, surpassing the previous milestone. This optimism comes even in the face of economic challenges, such as the drop in consumer confidence in the UK due to persistent inflation, which threatens economic recovery. Investors also paid attention to the financial results of giants such as Allianz (TG:ALV), BASF (TG:BASF), and Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN), looking for signs of corporate health and overall economic trends in the region.
On the quarterly earnings front for Friday, scheduled to present financial reports are Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD), Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN), Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR), Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), Docebo (NASDAQ:DCBO), AerCap (NYSE:AER), Sunstone Hotel Invertors (NYSE:SHO), Gray Television (NYSE:GTN), Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FYBR), among others.