Wall Street Targets Moderately Higher Opening

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to the University of Michigan’s preliminary report on Consumer Sentiment for November.

Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading up.
The initial trend on the U.S. Futures Index suggests that Wall Street might open moderately higher.

As of 6.45 am ET, the Dow futures were up 106.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 10.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 40.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished mixed on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 81.58 points or 0.5 percent to 15,704.28 after underperforming its counterparts in the previous session. The S&P 500 also inched up 2.56 points or 0.1 percent to 4,649.27, while the Dow slid 158.71 points or 0.4 percent to 35,921.23.

On the economic front, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment for November will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 72.3, while it was up 71.7 in the prior month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS for September will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 10.100 million, while it was up 10.43 million in the previous month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America Rig Count was 710 and the U.S. Rig Count was 550.

The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $8.575 trillion.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak before the virtual Heterogeneity in Macroeconomics: Implications for Policy conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at 12.10 pm ET.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Friday. Chinese shares eked out modest gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 6.31 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,539.10 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended up 79.98 points, or 0.32 percent, at 25,327.97.

Japanese shares rose sharply. The Nikkei average rallied 332.11 points, or 1.13 percent, to settle at 29,609.97, while the broader Topix index closed 1.31 percent higher at 2,040.60.

Australian markets rose notably after four straight sessions of losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 61.10 points, or 0.83 percent, to 7,443 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 64.60 points, or 0.84 percent, at 7,765.80.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 26.78 points or 0.38 percent. The German DAX is adding 26.77 points or 0.17 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 27.68 points or 0.37 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 55.69 points or 0.46 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.17 percent.

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