U.S. index futures remained virtually unchanged in Friday’s pre-market, consolidating after a previous session filled with excitement, where the Dow Jones briefly hit the 40,000-point mark for the first time.
At 6:31 AM, the futures of the Dow Jones (DOWI:DJI) were down 12 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.02%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.07%. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.392%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for June rose 0.15%, to $79.35 per barrel. Brent crude for July was up 0.17%, near $83.41 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange rose 2.18%, to $123.36 per metric ton.
On this Friday’s economic agenda, a notable event is a speech by Christopher Waller, a representative of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, scheduled for 10:15 AM. Following him, Mary Daly, from the San Francisco Fed, is scheduled to speak at 12:15 PM.
European markets were mixed on Friday, with investors analyzing eurozone inflation data, awaiting possible interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB) next month. The eurozone’s annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained steady in April at 2.4%, according to preliminary estimates released about two weeks ago.
Asian and Pacific stock markets closed mixed on Friday, with China and Hong Kong boosted by Chinese government measures to stimulate the real estate sector. Beijing announced a relaxation of mortgage rules, reversing early losses in the Chinese market. However, data revealed an alarming 31.1% drop in new home sales in China between January and April, with the average price of homes also declining notably. Although Chinese industrial production exceeded expectations in April, retail sales were weak.
The Shanghai SE Composite in China recorded a gain of 1.01%, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.34%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced 0.91%, while the Kospi in South Korea and the ASX 200 in Australia fell by 1.03% and 0.85%, respectively.
U.S. stocks started high on Thursday but, after fluctuations, closed slightly lower. The Dow Jones, which briefly reached 40,000, retreated 38.62 points, closing at 39,869.38. The S&P 500 fell by 11.05 points, and the Nasdaq lost 44.07 points. The initial upward trend reflected optimism about the possibility of interest rate cuts, following reports indicating less aggressive inflation than expected.
The Department of Labor’s report yesterday showed a drop in initial unemployment insurance claims to 222,000, 10,000 fewer than the previous week. In contrast, import prices rose 0.9% in April, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the highest annual increase since December 2022, with a growth rate of 1.1%.
Scheduled to present quarterly reports before market opening are RBC Bearings Inc (NYSE:RBC), Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR), Canaan Inc (NASDAQ:CAN), Huazhu Hotels Group (NASDAQ:HTHT), among others.