Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq poised to reach new record highs. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.
Optimism about new trade deals may contribute to early buying interest after President Donald Trump indicated the U.S. has signed an agreement with China.
A White House official later clarified that the U.S. and China have agreed to “an additional understanding of a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.”
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce subsequently said the two sides have “confirmed the details of the framework.”
The spokesperson said Washington would lift “restrictive measures,” while Beijing would “review and approve” items under export controls.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also told Bloomberg the Trump administration expects to soon reach deals with ten major trading partners.
The futures remained in positive territory following the release of a closely watched Commerce Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. crept up in line with expectations in the month of May.
The report said the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May, matching the uptick seen in April as well as economist estimates.
The annual rate of growth by the PCE price index accelerated to 2.3 percent in May from 2.2 percent in April, which also matched expectations.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 percent in May after inching up by 0.1 percent in April. Economists had expected another 0.1 percent uptick.
The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index accelerated to 2.7 percent in May from an upwardly revised 2.6 percent in April.
Economists had expected annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index to tick up to 2.6 percent from the 2.5 percent originally reported for the previous month.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending.
Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of June. The consumer sentiment index for June is expected to be unrevised from the preliminary reading of 60.5, which was up from 52.2 in May.
After ending Wednesday’s session little changed, stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day just shy of their record closing highs.
The major averages all posted strong gains on the day. The Nasdaq jumped 194.36 points or 1.0 percent to 20,167.91, the Dow advanced 404.41 points or 0.9 percent to 43,386.84 and the S&P 500 climbed 48.86 points or 0.8 percent to 6,141.02.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.30 to $65.54 a barrel after rising $0.32 to $65.24 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after inching up $4.90 to $3,348 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $57.40 to $3,290.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.46 yen versus the 144.42 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1730 compared to yesterday’s $1.1701.
S&P 500, Nasdaq May Reach New Record Highs In Early Trading
2025-06-27 12:55:58