U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday, as investors built on recent optimism that tensions in the Middle East may be easing.
President Donald Trump said the Iran war "should be ending pretty soon," describing developments as "going along swimmingly" during remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The comments followed the announcement of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Recent optimism around a potential peace deal has lifted equities, putting all three major indexes on track for weekly gains. The Dow is up about 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced roughly 3.3% and 5.2%, respectively.
Investors will also watch earnings from financial firms on Friday, including State Street (NYSE:STT), Truist Financial Corp (NYSE:TFC) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE:FITB).
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.305%, and the two-year bond was at 3.773%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.31% |
| S&P 500 | 0.16% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.05% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.33% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.21% at $701.07, while the QQQ gained 0.16% to $641.40.
Stocks In Focus
Netflix
- Shares of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell 9.6% on Thursday after the streaming giant issued a tepid forecast and said co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings would step down from the board in June. The stock is extending those losses and was last down 9.84% at $97.18 in pre-market trading on Friday
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that NFLX maintains a strong price trend in the short and medium terms, with a solid growth and quality score.
Truist Financial
- Shares of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) were down 0.38% in trading before the bell on Friday, as the lender gears up for its first quarter print before markets open. Analysts expect the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.00 per share. That's up from 89 cents per share in the year-ago period.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TFC maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium and long terms, with a solid growth and momentum score.
State Street Corp
- Shares of State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) were down 0.87% in pre-market trading on Friday, as the financial services firm is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.63 per share on revenue of $3.66 billion before the opening bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
- Benzinga’s Edge Rankings show strong price trends and a solid momentum and growth score, but a weak quality ranking.
Microsoft
- Shares of software giant Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose over 3% in premarket trading on Friday, putting the stock on track for a full week of gains, as momentum in megacap tech and improving sentiment around Azure and earnings continue to support the move.
- Benzinga Edge Rankings show strong growth and quality for the stock, but weak momentum and value, with only a short-term positive price trend, while medium and long-term outlooks remain negative.
Cues From Last Session
On Thursday, corporate earnings and outsized moves in select stocks dominated trading. Gains in PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) contrasted with sharp declines in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), while Netflix slipped in late trading following its results.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | 0.24% | 48,578.72 |
| S&P 500 | 0.26% | 7,041.28 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.36% | 24,102.70 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.22% | 2,719.60 |
Upcoming Economic Data
There is no economic data scheduled for Friday.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
WTI Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by about 3.3% to hover around $91.4 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude fell 2.6% to $96.7 per barrel at last check.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose held steady at around $4,795.34 per ounce at last check. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was down 0.12% at the 98.09 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was last exchanging hands at a 1.22% higher price of $75,721.23, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets mostly fell on Friday in stark contrast to Wall Street's record rally, on cautious optimism over the Middle East conflict. Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, South Korea's Kospi, Mainland China's CSI 300, and Australia's ASX 200 fell. However, India’s NIFTY 50 ticked higher. European markets were mostly in the green.
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