The major U.S. index futures on the Dow Jones, S&P and Nasdaq are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.
Optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.
A Bloomberg report citing people familiar said the U.S. is hoping to slash its China tariffs to below 60 percent from the current level of at least 145 percent during the weekend talks.
President Donald Trump suggested in a post on Truth Social that he supports lower tariffs on China but said a higher “80% Tariff on China seems right,” partly offsetting the positive sentiment.
Amid a lack of major U.S. economic news, any further developments on the trade front could impact trading as the day progresses.
After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks turned in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before giving back some ground going into the close.
The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session but still finished the session firmly in positive territory.
The Nasdaq jumped 189.98 points or 1.1 percent to 17,928.14, the Dow advanced 254.48 points or 0.6 percent to 41,368.45 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.66 points or 0.6 percent at 5,663.94.
The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump unveiled the framework of a trade agreement with the U.K.
While noting the final details are still “being written up,” Trump claimed the deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, and will see the U.K. reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers.
Even with the deal, the 10 percent tariff Trump imposed on most countries in early April will remain in place for imports from the U.K.
The announcement helped further ease uncertainty about trade following Wednesday’s news that Bessent will meet with China’s lead representative on economic matters during a trip to Switzerland.
“While trade with the UK pales in comparison to trade with our neighbors to the North and South, and especially in comparison to China, it is an important test case and a model for what could be accomplished,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
He added, “If the administration can follow this up with additional agreements, it would go a long way toward healing a stock market that has been battered and bruised this year.”
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended May 3rd.
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing a pullback by U.S. labor productivity in the first quarter of 2025 along with a sharp increase by unit labor costs.
Airline stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4.2 percent to its best closing level in over a month.
A sharp increase by the price of crude also contributed to substantial strength among energy stocks, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index up by 2.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Financial, computer hardware, housing and software stocks also saw considerable strength, while gold and pharmaceutical stocks showed significant moves to the downside.
Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Trade Deal Optimism May Lead To Initial Strength On Wall Street
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