Traders May Take A Breather Following Three-Day Surge

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Friday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions.

Traders may take a step back to digest the recent rally by the markets, which has seen the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 surge back to their best closing levels since the day President Donald Trump initially announced his “reciprocal tariff” plan.

Conflicting news on the trade front may also keep some traders on the sidelines, as Trump has refuted China’s claims that the two countries have not held any trade negotiations.

“They had a meeting this morning,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”

Trump’s comments come as a report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter said China’s government is considering suspending its 125 percent tariff on some U.S. imports due to the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war on certain industries.

Among individual stocks, shares of Intel (INTC) are plunging by 7.4 percent in pre-market trading after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected first quarter results but provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences (GILD) may also come under pressure after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but weaker than expected revenues.

On the other hand, shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) are jumping by 3.2 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported first quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Adding to the strong gains posted in the two previous sessions, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday. The Nasdaq showed a particularly strong move to the upside, reflecting strength among tech stocks.

The major averages ended the session just off their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq spiked 457.99 points or 2.7 percent to 17,166.04, the S&P 500 surged 108.91 points 2.0 percent at 5,484.77 and the Dow jumped 486.83 points or 1.2 percent to 40,093.40.

With the strong upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished the session at their best closing levels since the day President Donald Trump initially announced his “reciprocal tariff” plan.

Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, resulting in a 5.6 percent spike by Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Texas Instruments (TXN) and Lam Research (LRCX) helped lead the sector higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Industry giant Intel (INTC) also posted a strong gain ahead of the release of its first quarter results after the close of today’s trading.

Software and computer hardware stocks also saw significant strength, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 4.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Outside of the tech sector, oil service stocks showed a strong move to the upside amid a modest rebound by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.7 percent.

Financial, steel and retail stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The continued strength on Wall Street came despite comments from a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson that partly offset optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal.

Ministry of Commerce Spokesperson He Yadong told reporters there are currently “absolutely no negotiations on the economy and trade between China and the U.S,” according to a CNBC translation.

He added that “all sayings” regarding progress on bilateral talks should be dismissed and said the U.S. should cancel all “unilateral” tariffs on China if it really wants to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile, later in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. may reach “an agreement on understanding” on trade with South Korea “as soon as next week.”

“We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today. We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week,” Bessent said.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly higher in the week ended April 19th.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 222,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 216,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 221,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in the month of March amid a spike by orders for transportation equipment.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are slumping $0.89 to $61.90 a barrel after rising $0.52 to $62.79 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after surging $54.50 to $3,348.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $39.80 to $3,308.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 143.39 yen versus the 142.63 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1356 compared to yesterday’s $1.1390.

Asia

Asian stocks advanced on Friday amid signs the Trump administration is making progress on trade negotiations and that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates earlier than expected if labor and growth data weaken notably.

Treasury yields gained and the dollar edged up, pushing gold prices down over 1 percent to around $3,300 per ounce.

Crude oil futures headed for a weekly loss due to expectations of increased OPEC+ supply and renewed hopes for peace in Ukraine.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 3,295.06 as Beijing denied the existence of negotiations on a deal with the U.S. and demanded that the U.S. revoke all unilateral tariffs.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.3 percent to 21,980.74 on hopes that high tariff rates between the world’s two largest economies will be reduced through negotiations. Comments from two Fed officials about cutting interest rates also helped lift investors’ mood.

Japanese markets led regional gains as the government unveiled emergency economic measures to counter the impact of U.S. tariffs ahead of a second round of bilateral trade talks with Washington to be held next week.

Investors also reacted to data that showed Tokyo inflation grew more than expected to a two-year high in April amid a recovery in private spending.

The Nikkei 225 Index surged 1.9 percent to 35,705.74, while the broader Topix Index settled 1.4 percent higher at 2,628.03.

The yen weakened against the dollar as Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said specific currency levels or targets did not come up in his talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent.

Tech investor SoftBank rallied 2.9 percent, Advantest spiked 4.6 percent and Tokyo Electron jumped 4.2 percent after lawmakers in the lower house passed a bill to promote the development of artificial intelligence technology and take steps to mitigate its risks.

Seoul stocks rallied as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and South Korea had a “very successful” meeting during the first round of trade talks and that technical terms will be discussed as early as next week.

Seoul’s delegation said a deal aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs is likely before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July.

The Kospi jumped 1.0 percent to 2,546.30, with tech shares and shipbuilders leading the overall gains. SK Hynix surged 3.4 percent, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries spiked 7.2 percent and Hanwha Ocean soared 11.1 percent.

Australian and New Zealand stock markets were closed for the ANZAC Day holiday.

Europe

European shares have moved mostly higher on Friday, with signs of easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions and some upbeat corporate earnings helping underpin investor sentiment.

U.S. President Donald Trump refuted Beijing claims of no trade talks, claiming that talks are underway.

China may consider exempting some U.S. goods from tariffs as the economic costs of the tit-for-tat trade war weigh heavily on certain industries, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

In economic news, U.K. retail sales unexpectedly grew in March as good weather boosted sales of clothing and outdoor retailers, the Office for National Statistics said.

Retail sales grew 0.4 percent on a monthly basis, confounding expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent. However, this was slower than the 0.7 percent increase in February.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth advanced to 2.6 percent from 1.8 percent in February. Similarly, core retail sales growth improved to 3.3 percent from 1.8 percent.

The German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

French jet engine maker Safran SA has surged after reporting stronger-than-expected revenue for the first quarter and confirming its full-year outlook.

Holcim AG has also jumped. The Swiss construction materials maker reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit as it prepares for a major corporate shift.

Nordex SE has also advanced. The German wind turbine manufacturer returned to the black in the first quarter of 2025 as orders grew.

On the other hand, Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company SKF has edged down slightly after it gave a cautious outlook for the second quarter.

U.S. Economic News

The University of Michigan is due to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of April at 10 am ET. The consumer sentiment index for April is expected to be unrevised from a preliminary reading of 50.8, which was down from 57.0 in March.