Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

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 recovering from an initial pullback to end the previous session mostly higher.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid lingering uncertainty about the ceasefire in the Middle East.

Ahead of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend, President Donald Trump said Iran is doing a “very poor job” of allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz, adding, “That is not the agreement we have!”

Trump also responded to reports indicating Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the vital waterway, saying, “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”

“With talks between Tehran and Washington set to get underway on Saturday, investors could be in for a fretful weekend as they wait for indications of whether a path to lasting peace is possible,” said AJ Bell’s head of markets Dan Coatsworth. “Ahead of this, investors may well be tempted to hedge their bets.”

The futures remained little changed after the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March.

Following the substantial rally seen during Wednesday’s session, stocks gave back ground in early trading on Thursday but showed a notable turnaround over the course of the day. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session and into positive territory.

The major averages added to the strong gains posted Wednesday, reaching their best closing levels in over a month.

The Nasdaq advanced 187.42 points or 0.8 percent to 22,822.42, the Dow climbed 275.88 points or 0.6 percent to 48,185.80 and the S&P 500 rose 41.85 points or 0.6 percent to 6,824.66.

The turnaround on the day came as traders kept an eye on the latest developments in the Middle East and the subsequent impact on the price of crude oil.

While crude oil initially showed a substantial rebound from Wednesday’s nosedive, prices gave back ground but remained sharply higher.

The initial surge by crude oil prices came amid concerns about the fragility of the ceasefire in the Middle East, with Iran accusing the U.S. and Israel of violating the agreement.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed in an interview with the BBC that Iran had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Khatibzadeh argued Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon earlier in the day was an “intentional grave violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

However, crude oil prices gave back ground after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would begin negotiating with Lebanon “as soon as possible.”

Netanyahu said the negotiations would focus on disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.

Retail stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index up by 2.9 percent to its best closing level in over two months.

Significant strength also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Transportation and banking stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, while substantial weakness remained visible among software stocks.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.32 to $97.55 a barrel after surging $3.46 to $97.87 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $40.80 to $4,818 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $32 to $4,786 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.05 yen versus the 158.94 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1721 compared to yesterday’s $1.1699.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday amid lingering tensions around Israeli strikes across Lebanon and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ceasefire agreement.

According to ship-tracking data, just seven ships passed through the strait in the past 24 hours against a normal daily flow of around 140.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes overnight as U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Iran’s handling of the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran against charging fees on oil tankers.

Gold steadied in Asian trading and was set for a third weekly gain ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later in the day.

The dollar headed for its largest weekly drop since January, buoyed by the two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement.

Brent crude prices rose nearly 2 percent toward $98 a barrel ahead of scheduled talks next week to address broader ceasefire negotiations.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 3,986.22 after the release of mixed inflation data.

Official data showed that China’s factory-gate prices in March turned positive for the first time in more than three years, driven by higher import costs linked to West Asia tensions. The consumer price index rose 1 percent year on year in March.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.6 percent to close at 25,893.54 as thematic stocks surged across the board, boosted by the news of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granting its first three stablecoin licenses.

Japanese markets rallied due to investor optimism over corporate earnings and ongoing investment in the technology sector. Investors shrugged off data that showed producer prices in the country rose the most in four months in March.

The Nikkei 225 Index shot up 1.8 percent to 56,924.11, while the broader Topix Index settled marginally lower at 3,739.85.

Seoul stocks closed sharply higher on foreign investor buying. The Kospi climbed 1.4 percent to 5,858.87 as the Bank of Korea held rates steady for a seventh straight meeting. Tech heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix gained 1 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

Australian markets ended slightly lower but notched their best weekly gain since October 2022. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 8,960.60 but surged more than 4 percent during the week.

The broader All Ordinaries Index also closed 0.1 percent lower at 9,155.80, with mining and energy stocks pacing the decliners.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.7 percent to 13,181.44 after the release of weak manufacturing data, with activity slipping to a four-month low in March.

Europe

European stocks have moved higher on Friday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country was ready for direct negotiations with Lebanon, while insisting that Israel’s attacks across the country targeting Hezbollah would continue.

In economic news, German consumer price inflation reached the strongest since January 2024 due to the significant rise in energy prices following the Iran war, final data from Destatis revealed.

Consumer price inflation rose to 2.7 percent in March from 1.9 percent in February. The rate came in line with the preliminary estimate published on March 30. The 2.7 percent was the highest level recorded since January 2024.

EU harmonized inflation advanced to 2.8 percent, as estimated, from 2.0 percent in February.

While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.

Among individual stocks, German luxury carmaker Porsche was moving lower after reporting a decline in first-quarter deliveries.

French food caterer Sodexo has slumped after reporting a sharp decline in first-half earnings and cutting its annual sales and profitability targets.

Meanwhile, Skanska has moved to the upside. The Swedish construction group has signed a contract to build a high-tech facility in the United States valued at approximately SEK 1.3 billion.

U.S. Economic News

Consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index jumped by 0.9 percent in March after rising by 0.3 percent in February. Economists had expected consumer prices to advance by 0.9 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.2 in March, matching the uptick seen in February. Core prices were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices accelerated to 3.3 percent in March from 2.4 in February, while the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices ticked up to 2.6 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February.

At 10 am ET, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of April. The consumer sentiment index is expected to dip to 52.0 in April after falling to 53.3 in March.

The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of February at 10 am ET. Factory orders are expected to edge down by 0.2 percent in February after inching up by 0.1 percent in January.