Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a notably higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.9 percent.
Early buying interest may be generated amid indications China is open to trade talks with the U.S., with a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce saying U.S. officials have “repeatedly expressed their willingness to negotiate with China on tariffs.”
The spokesperson said China is “currently evaluating” messages sent to China through relevant parties hoping to start trade talks.
However, according to a Google translation, the spokesperson said the U.S. has to be prepared to “correct its wrong practices” and cancel unilateral tariffs if it wants to talk and warned failure to do so would show the U.S. has “no sincerity at all and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides.”
The futures saw further upside following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. job growth far exceeded economist estimates in the month of April.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 177,000 jobs in April compared to expectations for an increase of about 130,000 jobs.
At the same time, the jumps in employment in February and March were downwardly revised to 102,000 jobs and 185,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 58,000 jobs.
The report also said the unemployment rate came in at 4.2 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with economist estimates.
A notable decline by shares of Apple (AAPL) may limit the upside for the markets, with the tech giant slumping by 2.8 percent in pre-market trading after reporting its quarterly results after the close of Thursday’s trading.
After surging early in the session, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but remained mostly higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq hung on to a standout gain, ending the session at its best closing level in over a month.
The major averages moved to the downside going into the end of the day but still closed in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 264.40 points or 1.5 percent to 17,710.74, the S&P 500 climbed 35.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,604.14 and the Dow rose 83.60 points or 0.2 percent to 40,752.96.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.0 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.60 to $58.64 a barrel after jumping $1.03 to $59.24 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plummeting $96.90 to $3,222.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $44.60 to $3,266.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.63 yen versus the 145.39 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1324 compared to yesterday’s $1.1290.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May See Initial Strength On Trade Talks Optimism, Jobs Report
2025-05-02 12:54:34
