Stock futures trade higher as equities head for a winning week
Traders will be watching shares of FedEx as well as the latest new home sales data as the week comes to an end
U.S. equity futures ware trading higher on Friday morning, adding to gains from the previous session with markets heading for its first weekly gain after three weeks of punishing losses.
The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.7% when the opening bell rings to stat the final trading day of the week.
Headlining the economic reports that traders will be watching are sales of new single-family homes. The report could show a decline of 0.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000.
At the same time watch for the University of Michigan’s final index of consumer sentiment for June. It’s expected to hold steady at the preliminary reading of 50.2, which is a record low as gasoline prices soared to all-time highs, driving inflation fears.
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FedEx shares gained more than 2% in after-hours trading after reporting that revenue rose 8% in its fourth quarter helped by higher shipping rates and fuel surcharges. Operating income rose 6.7% from a year earlier to $1.9 billion. Adjusted earnings of $6.87 per share missed Wall Street expectations. FedEx expects full-year earnings in the range of $22.50 to $24.50 per share.
ALL 33 MAJOR US BANKS PASS FED'S ANNUAL 'STRESS TESTS'
The nation’s major banks are in good shape and can withstand a severe economic contraction, the Federal Reserve determined Thursday. The 33 largest banks received a passing grade from the Federal Reserve following the latest annual "stress tests." This year's scenario was being able to handle an unemployment rate that would more than double to 10%, a severe contraction in commercial real estate and stock market values that could cause losses of more than $600 billion.
Bitcoin traded around $21,000.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index added 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 2.1% and China's Shanghai Composite index added 0.9%.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44736.57 | +440.06 | +0.99% |
SP500 | S&P 500 | 5987.37 | +18.03 | +0.30% |
I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19054.835014 | +51.18 | +0.27% |
The S&P 500 ended Thursday 1% higher at 3,795.73 after having been down as much as 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 30,677.36 and the Nasdaq gained 1.6% to 11,232.19.
Energy stocks fell as the price of U.S. crude oil dropped 1.8%. Valero fell 7.6%.
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Oil prices gained on Friday and were heading for a second weekly decline.
U.S. benchmark crude oil was at $105 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the basis for pricing for international trading, was at $110 per barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.