After moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions, stocks may see some further upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.
Optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.
A Bloomberg report citing people familiar said the U.S. is hoping to slash its China tariffs to below 60 percent from the current level of at least 145 percent during the weekend talks.
President Donald Trump suggested in a post on Truth Social that he supports lower tariffs on China but said a higher “80% Tariff on China seems right,” partly offsetting the positive sentiment.
Amid a lack of major U.S. economic news, any further developments on the trade front could impact trading as the day progresses.
After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks turned in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before giving back some ground going into the close.
The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session but still finished the session firmly in positive territory.
The Nasdaq jumped 189.98 points or 1.1 percent to 17,928.14, the Dow advanced 254.48 points or 0.6 percent to 41,368.45 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.66 points or 0.6 percent at 5,663.94.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.31 to $61.22 a barrel after surging $1.84 to $59.91 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plunging $85.90 to $3,306 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $32.30 to $3,338.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.26 yen versus the 145.91 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1251 compared to yesterday’s $1.1228.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May See Initial Strength On Trade Deal Optimism
2025-05-09 12:49:36
