U.S. Stocks May Move Mostly Higher In Early Trading

After closing mixed for two straight sessions, stocks may move mostly higher in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to initial strength on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

Stocks may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has seen the S&P 500 close higher for four straight days and turn positive year-to-date.

The markets have recently been encourage by Monday’s news of a U.S.-China trade deal temporarily slashing steep tariffs on each other’s goods.

However, lingering uncertainty about the U.S. and its trade partners reaching deals that permanently lower tariffs has kept buying interest somewhat subdued.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report on Friday unexpectedly showing modest increases by U.S. import and export prices in the month of April.

The report said import prices crept up by 0.1 percent in April after falling by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in March.

Economists had expected import prices to decrease by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said export prices also inched up by 0.1 percent in April, matching an upwardly revised uptick in March.

Economists had expected export prices to decline by 0.5 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

While the Commerce Department released a separate report showing a rebound by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of April, the report also showed a substantial pullback by building permits during the month.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of May. The consumer sentiment index is expected to rise to 53.4 in May after slumping to 52.2 in April.

After experiencing choppy trading during Wednesday’s session, stocks turned in another relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the day before eventually closing mixed.

While the Nasdaq dipped 34.49 points or 0.2 percent to 19,112.32, the S&P 500 rose 24.35 points or 0.4 percent to 5,916.93 and the Dow climbed 271.69 points or 0.7 percent at 42,322.75.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.29 to $61.91 a barrel after tumbling $1.53 to $61.62 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after jumping $38.30 to $3,226.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $42.10 to $3,184.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.59 yen versus the 145.67 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1192 compared to yesterday’s $1.1187.

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