Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Friday, with stocks poised to extend the rebound seen in the previous session.

The markets may continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen on Thursday, which came amid a positive reaction to earnings from companies like Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan (MS).

Buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders keep an eye on rising geopolitical tensions around the world.

President Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland continue to attract attention, with European troops arriving in the territory in a show of support.

Traders also continue to keep an eye on developments in Venezuela, political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

After turning in a strong performance for much of the session, stocks gave back some ground in the latter part of the trading day on Thursday but managed to remain mostly higher.

The major averages all ended the day in positive territory, regaining some ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions.

The Dow advanced 292.81 points or 0.6 percent to 49,442.44, the Nasdaq climbed 58.27 points or 0.3 percent to 23,530.02 and the S&P 500 rose 17.87 points or 0.3 percent to 6,944.47.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), with the chipmaker surging by 4.4 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor jumped after reporting a sharp increase in fourth quarter profits and announced larger-than-expected capital spending plans, contributing to renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence trade.

"After last week's revenue update it was an open secret that TSMC would be reporting a record quarter but the details are still striking," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"Not least the levels of capital expenditure TSMC is committing to, suggesting it is fully confident the AI boom has legs," he added. "This is underlined by the company's guidance for 30% growth in 2026."

Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped in the week ended January 10th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 198,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 207,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 208,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Airline stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 2.6 percent.

Notable strength also remained visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Financial, networking and utilities stocks also turned in strong performances, while pharmaceutical, oil and biotechnology stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are jumping $0.68 to $59.87 a barrel after plummeting $2.83 to $59.19 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after falling $12 to $4,623.70 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $24.40 to $4,599.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.02 yen versus the 158.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1617 compared to yesterday's $1.1606.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday despite Wall Street snapping a two-day losing streak overnight. Regional chip stocks ended mostly higher on revived AI-driven growth optimism after TSMC posted record quarterly profits of $16 billion.

The dollar index stabilized near 99.50 as strong jobless claims prompted traders to pare rate-cut expectations.

Gold dipped from recent record highs to hover around $4,600 an ounce, while oil edged up slightly after falling nearly 4 percent on Thursday to snap a five-day winning streak on easing U.S.-Iran tensions.

China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.3 percent to 4,101.91 after Beijing signaled limits on Nvidia H200 imports.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed down 0.3 percent at 26,844.96 ahead of forthcoming economic growth data from China slated for release on Monday.

Japanese markets closed lower due to political uncertainty ahead of a February vote. The snap general election is likely to be held on February 8, with official campaigning starting from January 27, senior members of ruling parties reportedly said.

The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 53,936.17, extending losses from the previous session, dragged down by heavyweights like Fast Retailing and Tokyo Electron. The broader Topix Index settled 0.3 percent lower at 3,658.68.

Seoul stocks hit another new high as momentum in the artificial intelligence sector picked up. The benchmark Kospi jumped 0.9 percent to 4,840.74, breaking past the 4,800 level for the first time in both intraday trading and closing.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallied 3.5 percent to close at 148,900 won after climbing as high as 149,500 won a share during intraday trading.

Australian markets eked out modest gains to near a three-month closing high, driven by gains in banking stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.5 percent to 8,903.90, extending its winning streak to five sessions. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.5 percent at 9,226.70.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 13,718.10 after a survey showed New Zealand's manufacturing industry expanded at the fastest pace in four years in December.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Friday as investors monitor ongoing geopolitical events and earnings news.

Greenland worries returned to the fore, with media reports suggesting that European troops are landing in the country to defend it against a real U.S. military threat.

The deployment of troops from several European countries and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies was announced after high-level negotiations between Denmark and U.S. officials ended in stalemate on Thursday.

In economic news, data released earlier today showed German harmonized inflation eased to the 2 percent target towards the end of the year.

The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.0 percent on a yearly basis in December following a 2.6 percent gain in the previous month, according to final data from Destatis. The statistical office confirmed the December rate published on January 6.

Likewise, consumer price inflation weakened to 1.8 percent from 2.3 percent in each of the previous two months. The latest inflation rate was the slowest since September 2024 and also matched the provisional estimate.

While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

Gold miner Fresnillo has moved to the downside as easing geopolitical tensions weigh on gold prices.

Lender HSBC has also moved lower on the day after launching a review of its insurance arm in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Kloeckner & Co .shares have soared after Worthington Steel announced that it would buy the German steel processor in a deal valued at $2.4 billion.

U.S. Economic News

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of December at 9:15 am ET. Industrial production is expected to inch up by 0.1 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is due to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of January. The housing market index is expected to tick up to 40 in January from 39 in December.

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins is scheduled to deliver opening and introductory remarks before the Outlook '26 New England Economic Forum at 10:50 am ET.

At 11 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to speak on the outlook for the economy and monetary policy before the Outlook '26 New England Economic Forum.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy implementation at the American Institute for Economic Research, Shadow Open Market Committee, and Florida Atlantic University Conference at 3:30 pm ET.