U.S. Stocks May Extend Upward Trend As Trading Resumes

(RTTNews) - With traders returning to their desks following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday.

The futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, as futures trading recently resumed after a "cooling issue" at a data center halted trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange earlier in the morning.

The trading disruption at the CME along with an early close on Wall Street may lead to below average trading activity going into the weekend.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of next week's reports on manufacturing and service sector activity and private sector employment.

Nonetheless, stocks may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which contributed to a four-day winning streak for the markets ahead of yesterday's holiday.

The markets have recently benefitted from renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates following dovish comments from some Federal Reserve officials.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates the chances the Fed will lower rates by another quarter point next month have soared to 86.9 percent.

Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions. The major averages moved to the upside in morning trading and remained firmly positive throughout the afternoon.

The major averages closed higher for the fourth consecutive session, continuing to claw their way back towards their record highs. The Dow climbed 314.67 points or 0.7 percent to 47,427.12, the Nasdaq jumped 189.10 points or 0.8 percent to 23,214.69 and the S&P 500 advanced 46.73 points or 0.7 percent to 6,812.61.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while South Korea's Kospi slumped by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved modestly higher on the day. The German DAX Index, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are all up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.21 to $58.86 a barrel after climbing $0.70 to $58.65 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after jumping $25 to $4,202.30 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are increasing $11.60 to $4,213.90 ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.10 yen versus the 56.30 yen it fetched on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1571 compared to yesterday's $1.1595.