Oil climbs back from worst losses of the year
U.S. stock futures rose modestly Friday on some encouraging news on the trade front, with reports President Donald Trump may ease up on restrictions against Huawei Technologies Inc. as part of a bigger trade deal with China.
How did the major benchmarks fare?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMM19, +0.51% rose 142 points, or 0.6%, to 25,606, while S&P 500 futures ESM19, +0.47% were up 15.85 points, or 0.6%, to 2,835.25. Nasdaq-100 futures NQM19, +0.36% added 29.25 points, or 0.4%, to 7,341. DJIA, -1.11%
On Thursday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.11% dropped 286.14 points, or 1.1%, to 25,490.47, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.19% fell 34.03 points, or 1.2%, to 2,822.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite IndexCOMP, -1.58% sank 122.56 points, or 1.6%, to 7,628.28.
What’s driving the market?
Investors appeared to be taking a breather from a week of mostly unsettling headlines linked to trade tensions, as fallout from a U.S. ban on Chinese tech group Huawei Technologies Inc. reverberated across global markets. Thursday’s losses stemmed from a growing view that the U.S. and China were moving further apart on a trade deal.
Calming the situation somewhat, Trump said Thursday that the U.S. could ease up on its ban against Huawei as “some part” of a wider trade deal with the country, though he reiterated the Chinese company was “very dangerous” from a security standpoint.
At the same time, a separate report said the Commerce Department was considering tariffs on countries that undervalued their currencies to the disadvantage of U.S. companies. Currently no country in the world meets that specific criteria, but the U.S. has long viewed China as a manipulator of its yuan.
Meanwhile, investors are taking in stride the news of U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May’s decision to step down as Prime Minister, effective June 7, after several failed attempts to negotiate an agreement for Britain to leave the European Union. Britain has until October 31st to reach a deal to leave the European Union.
U.S. markets will close Monday in honor of the Memorial Day holiday.
What’s on the economic calendar?
Data on durable goods and capital goods orders for April due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares of Foot Locker Inc. FL, -8.93% fell 7.7% before the start of trade, after the sporting-goods retailer fell short of analyst expectations for first-quarter earnings and sales.
Autodesk, Inc. ADSK, -2.58% issued earnings results Thursday evening, reporting a surprise first-quarter loss and revenue growth that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The stock fell 8.3% in off-hours trade.
What are analysts saying?
“Futures are bouncing modestly following some hopeful comments by President Trump on U.S.-China trade,” wrote Tom Essaye, president of the Sevens Report, in a Friday note to clients. “Brexit entered a new phase as PM May announced she will resign on June 7th. But, until a ‘No Deal’ becomes more likely, the global markets will continue ignore Brexit,” he added.
How are other markets trading?
Stock markets in Asia traded mixed, with the Shanghai CompositeSHCOMP, +0.02% posting a 0.1% drop, while European stocks SXXP, +0.77%moved higher.
Among commodities, crude prices US:CLU8 were rebounding from the biggest one-day loss of the year. Gold GCM19, -0.21% is softer, while the U.S. dollarDXY, -0.10% is steady.