Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - 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 following the rally seen in the previous session.

Traders may take a breather following recent volatility in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 slump to its lowest level in over a month before rebounding strongly during Thursday's session.

Yesterday's rally partly reflected a pullback by crude oil prices and treasury yields, although the price of crude oil ended the day well off its lowest levels.

Crude oil prices and treasury yields are moving back to the upside this morning, which may generate some selling pressure.

Nonetheless, traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East and the outlook for oil prices.

"We have seen this story play out in microcosm multiple times over the months since the Iran conflict started in February, with a more concerted move lower for oil likely to require more solid evidence of diplomatic progress in the short term," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

He added, "However, there will be relief that equity markets have successfully navigated a week where the U.S. Federal Reserve put up rates and the Bank of England kept its powder dry but signaled clearly that a U.K. rate hike might not be far away."

Following the downturn seen late in Wednesday's session, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, offsetting recent losses and turning positive for the week.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs for the session late in the day before giving back ground going into the close. The Nasdaq surged 439.87 points or 1.7 percent to 26,418.30 and the S&P 500 jumped 85.95 points or 1.1 percent to 7,637.76.

The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain after falling sharply on Wednesday, climbing 316.14 points or 0.6 percent to 51,778.04.

Stocks surged early in the session amid an extended pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by as much as 3.3 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures also plunged by more than 3 percent on Wednesday amid optimism about the steps Saudi Arabia is taking to avoid supply disruptions after the closure of its key East-West pipeline.

After dropping below $100 a barrel in early trading, the price of crude oil regained ground since but still ended the day lower.

Stocks remained sharply higher even as crude oil prices rebounded, as traders shrugged off Wednesday's widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

While Fed officials' projections pointed to at least one more rate hike before the end of the year, traders may have felt yesterday's reaction was overdone.

Treasury yields moved to the downside along with crude oil prices, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note slumping after ending the previous session roughly flat.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 12th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 196,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 206,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000.

Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring by 4.4 percent.

Semiconductor and biotechnology stocks also saw substantial strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Gold stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, resulting in a 3.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Airline, networking and pharmaceutical stocks also turned in strong performances, while telecom stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.29 to $102.20 a barrel after falling $0.52 to $101.91 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after rising $12.20 to $4,399.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $9.30 to $4,409 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.85 yen versus the 155.96 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1464 compared to yesterday's $1.1624.

Asia

Asian stocks rose broadly on Friday, with technology stocks leading the surge after reports emerged that SK Hynix and Intel are in early talks to produce memory chips together at Intel's idle Ohio complex in the United States.

Gold prices jumped more than 1 percent toward $4,400 an ounce, after having snapped a three-day decline the previous day on the back of easing oil prices and a weaker dollar.

Brent crude futures fell over 2 percent toward $102 a barrel, extending losses for a third session on hopes of limited supply disruption and renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East conflict.

Reports indicated that China privately urged Iran to curb Houthi attacks after Saudi Arabia's appeal, a move that could potentially ease disruptions around the Bab el-Mandeb.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Washington is "hopefully toward the end" of its fighting with Iran and claimed that he has spoken "directly" with Iranian officials.

Ahead of a planned meeting next Tuesday with leaders from six Gulf countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump said that he is approaching a critical juncture in the Iran war over whether to resume massive attacks to bring the conflict to a close.

China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9 percent to 3,911.87 ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China summit.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend for final preparations ahead of the September 24 meeting at the White House between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.6 percent higher at 24,750.78 as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) raised its base rate to 4.25 percent following a 25-basis-point upward shift in the target range for the U.S. federal funds rate.

Japanese markets rallied while the yen sank against its major peers after the Bank of Japan raised its key benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent in a split vote, with two of the nine board members voting against the increase.

Hours before the BoJ's dovish rate hike, data showed Japanese inflation slowed for the first time in four months in August, largely reflecting the effect of government subsidies.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.4 percent to 65,018.95, while the broader Topix Index finished marginally lower at 4,091.14 after a choppy session. Tech stocks surged, with Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Lasertec Corp and Kioxia Holdings rising 4-9 percent.

Seoul stocks soared on eased inflation woes. The Kospi Index surged 2.7 percent to 6,894.23, led by tech heavyweights.

Samsung Electronics rose 3.4 percent and SK Hynix rallied 6.4 percent after Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, said that chip sales volume next year will double from this year's levels.

Australian markets ended on a flat note. While the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished marginally lower at 8,731.20, the broader All Ordinaries Index edged up 0.1 percent to close at 8,922.70.

Mining stocks surged as copper and precious metals prices bounced from their recent sell-off. Rate-sensitive banks underperformed after RBA Governor Michele Bullock warned Parliament that inflation remains too high.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 13,739.14, reversing morning gains.

Europe

European stocks have pulled back sharply on Friday after moving notably higher in the previous session on the back of declining oil prices and reduced pressure in the bond market.

A cautious undertone prevailed after a European Central Bank survey showed Euro Zone consumers nudged up their inflation expectations last month. Median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months increased to 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent in July.

Earlier today, the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points and warned that underlying inflation could exceed its 2 percent target amid rising wage and price expectations.

While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1.2 percent.

The British pound traded higher after official data showed U.K. retail sales rebounded unexpectedly in August, largely driven by the recovery in non-store retailing.

Retail sales grew 0.5 percent on a monthly basis, offsetting July's 0.5 percent fall. Sales were expected to drop 0.2 percent. On a yearly basis, retail sales growth doubled to 2.4 percent from 1.2 percent in July.

In corporate news, Nestle shares slumped. The Swiss food and beverage company said it is 'assessing options' after a Russian presidential decree placed its local subsidiary, Nestle Russia, under temporary external administration.

German travel group TUI has also fallen after announcing that Johan Lundgren will become Chairman of its Supervisory Board after the AGM in February 2027.

Meanwhile, French pipe manufacturer Vallourec has risen after securing a contract for a key South European offshore carbon storage project.

U.S. Economic News

The Federal Reserve is due to release its report on industrial production in the month of August at 9:15 am ET. Industrial production is expected to increase by 0.3 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July.

At 9:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman is scheduled to speak on "Stress Testing" at the Mansion House in London.

The Conference Board is due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of August at 10 am ET. The leading economic index is expected to inch up by 0.1 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July.

Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeff Schmid is scheduled to speak on "Payments, Banking and the Federal Reserve" at the Independent Community Bankers of Colorado Annual Convention at 11:45 am ET.