Editor’s Note: The ETFs tracking benchmark indices, lede and the headline were updated in the story.

U.S. stocks look set for a positive opening on Friday, with futures of the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rising, after closing Thursday on a mixed note.

Contributing to the optimism are comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who proposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on a nuclear deal within seven days, provided that President Donald Trump agrees to accept conditions set forth by Iran.

"If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted. The conditions we have asked the U.S. to meet are nothing new, nothing more than what was already in the Islamabad MOU, which was signed by the U.S. President," Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the UNGA, according to a report by Iran International.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.175%, and the 30-year bond was at 5.469%, while the two-year yields stood at 4.895%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 66.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking the current interest rates during its October meeting.

IndexPerformance (+/-)
Dow Jones0.36%
S&P 5000.37%
Nasdaq 1000.66%
Russell 20000.4%

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 on Friday. The SPY was up 0.41% at $770.4, while the QQQ gained 0.72% to $746.43.

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Stocks In Focus

Akamai

  • Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) shares are in focus on Friday after the company announced a $11.6 billion seven-year deal with Anthropic for CPU infrastructure. Akamai shares were up 23.38% pre-market.
  • Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AKAM maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium and short terms.

Costco

  • Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:COST) reported better-than-expected results during the fourth quarter. Its earnings per share stood at $6.75, while revenue came in at $95.72 billion. Costco shares were down 0.17% in Friday’s pre-market trade.
  • Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that COST maintains a weak price trend in the long, medium and short terms.

Scholastic

  • Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ:SCHL) shares are in focus on Friday after the company’s first-quarter results missed Wall Street expectations. Scholastic shares were down 10.22% pre-market.
  • Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SCHL maintains a weak price trend in the long, medium and short terms.

Tamboran Resources

  • Tamboran Resources Corp. (NYSE:TBN) shares rose 4.86% pre-market ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter results, due before the opening bell.
  • Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TBN maintains a strong price trend in the long, medium, and short terms, with a good momentum score.

People

  • People Inc. (NASDAQ:PPLI) shares were up 10.92% pre-market after a report by The Wall Street Journal stated that MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) is discussing taking over People.
  • Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PPLI maintains a weak price trend in the long, medium and short terms.

Cues From Last Session

Most S&P 500 sectors ended Thursday’s session lower, led by declines in materials, utilities and consumer staples stocks. Communication services and health care were the exceptions, finishing the session in positive territory.

IndexPerformance (+/-)Value
Dow Jones-0.31%51,349.98
S&P 500-0.02%7,704.13
Nasdaq Composite0.01%26,939.37
Russell 2000-0.11%2,835.57

Insights From Analysts

Analysts at Schwab Center for Financial Research said in a note on Friday that Treasury yields edged lower across the curve yesterday, with longer-dated yields coming under greater pressure following the rate hike. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.93%, retreating from 19-year highs above 5% earlier this week.

While it was only a one-session move, the analysts highlighted that the pullback may indicate that the bond market welcomed the Fed’s firm stance on inflation, which has remained stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target for years.

Read Also: Ross Gerber Warns US 'Can't Afford' 5% Treasury Yields As Bond Rout Sends Mortgage Rates To 2023 High

The firm added that yields may also be easing modestly after their sharp climb following the Fed’s rate hike. It was the first increase since 2023 and signaled that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is willing to back up his hawkish rhetoric with action.

Still, the analysts added that a 25-basis-point hike is unlikely to have a significant impact on energy-driven inflation, which pushed U.S. diesel prices above $6 a gallon this week. Diesel powers the trucks and trains that transport most goods across the country, raising the risk of either higher prices for consumers or tighter profit margins for companies, the firm said.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday:

  • August’s durable goods orders data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
  • University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment survey data will be out by 10 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude Oil WTI futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 1.9% to hover around $92.81 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.82% to hover around $4,308.84 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.25% lower at the 101.03 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.2% higher at $84,544.06 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indexes declined. India’s Nifty 50 rose, while Australia’s ASX 200 index closed in the red. European markets rose in early trade.

See More: Top Momentum Stocks

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