Stock futures gain ahead of holiday weekend

Investors will be watching for the latest Income and Expense numbers and consumer sentiment

U.S. equity futures were modestly higher Friday morning following a day that saw a strong set of earnings from retailers send shares higher.

The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.2% when the final trading day of the week gets underway on Wall Street.

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U.S. bond markets will have an early close on Friday at 2:00pm ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

Both the stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday.

New York Stock Exchange traders

Traders on the floor of the NYSE. (AP)

Oil is trading near a two-month high amid global supply concerns.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $114 a barrel. WTI is set for a weekly gain of about 0.7%.

Brent futures were around $117 a barrel. That benchmark was on track for a gain of about 4% this week.

The week ends with earnings from Big Lots, and sporting goods seller Hibbett. So far, 491 companies in the S&P 500 have posted first-quarter results, with the numbers coming in well ahead of forecasts.

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On the economic docket, investors will be watching for the latest income and expense numbers for April, in addition to the University of Michigan's measure of consumer sentiment.

Bitcoin traded around $29,000.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 2.2% and China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2%.

Shares of Alibaba and Baidu surged after they reported better than expected results.

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Wall Street ended broadly higher after seven straight weeks of declines, the longest such stretch since 2001.

The S&P 500 rose 79.11 points, or 2%, to 4,057.84. The Dow added 516.91 points, or 1.6%, to 32,637.19, and the Nasdaq rose 305.91 points, or 2.7%, to 11,740.65. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 44253.84 +383.49 +0.87%
SP500 S&P 500 5970.79 +22.08 +0.37%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 19010.574758 +38.15 +0.20%

Retailers led the broader market higher Thursday. Macy's surged 19.3% after it raised its profit forecast for the year following a strong first-quarter financial report. Dollar General vaulted 13.7% and Dollar Tree jumped 21.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the discount retailers reported solid earnings and gave investors encouraging forecasts.

Shares of Gap were down 17% in premarket trading after slashing its annual results forecast, The clothing retailer blamed poor fashion choices at its Old Navy line and weak demand in the face of decades-high inflation. 

Shares of Costco Wholesale traded nearly 2% lower in premarket trading. Profit and revenue topped expectations. Same-store sales grew by double-digits, but fell short of expectations. 

Shares of Dell Technologies gained 7% in after-hours trading. Profit and revenue topped expectations on strong demand for enterprise computing hardware and business PC sales. The company also raised its full-year guidance. 

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The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 2.74% Friday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.