US Stock Index Futures Underpinned by Tech Sector Ahead of Opening
U.S. stock index futures contracts are edging higher shortly before the cash market opening on Friday, as the major averages go for a fourth day of gains. Despite a volatile start to the week, investors have been able to overcome concerns about a slowdown in economic growth, putting the markets in a position to post solid weekly gains.
At 10:45 GMT, September E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are trading 4381.25, up 21.75 or +0.50%. September E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are at 34876, up 167 or +0.48% and September E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are trading 15003.50, up 75.00 or +0.50%.
All three U.S. stock averages are on pace to close the week in the green, rebounding from last week’s losses and Monday’s sharp sell-off. The Dow dropped more than 700 points to start the week as yields fell, unnerving equity investors about the economy.
Thursday Review
Big tech helped Wall Street inch up to a higher close on Thursday, modestly building on a two-day rally as lackluster economic data and mixed corporate earnings prompted a pivot back to growth stocks.
A pull-back in economically sensitive cyclicals kept the S&P 500’s and the blue-chip Dow’s gains muted, while small cap underperformed their larger rivals. But mega-cap tech and tech-adjacent stocks, such as Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc, rose ahead of their quarterly results next week, putting the NASDAQ out front.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session within 1% of their record closing highs. Growth stocks, which outperformed throughout the health crisis, were back in favor, gaining 0.8%, while the value index slipped by 0.5%.
Tech Stocks Higher in Pre-Market Trading
Strong earnings from tech stocks made investors optimistic ahead of reports next week from the biggest names in the sector. Twitter and Snap each jumped Thursday following better-than-expected second-quarter earnings reports. Twitter traded more than 5% higher in the premarket, while Snap shot up 16.4%.
Facebook gained 2% in premarket trading on results from its social media competitors. Alphabet added about 1%.
American Express, Honeywell and Kimberly-Clark report earnings before the bell Friday.
In other news, the 10-year Treasury yield rose on Friday to 1.29%, easing concerns about the economy that the bond market triggered on Monday. The 10-year yield fell to a 5-month low of 1.13% earlier this week.
In economic news, Markit’s July PMI data, which should give an indication as to the state of the U.S. economic recovery, is due to come out at 13:45 GMT.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
