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U.S. stock futures extended gains on Friday, while the dollar headed for its second consecutive weekly advance and Treasury yields stabilized, as markets continue to rely on the strength of the chip and technology sector ahead. to the fourth quarter earnings season.
Chip stocks look to build on their recent gains, both with Nvidia (NVDA) – Get a free report and advanced microdevices (amd) – Get a free report ready to test all-time highs. This comes as investors maintain their bets on ai demand, underlined by Taiwan Semiconductor's strong forecast for 2024.
Those gains have helped push the Nasdaq into positive territory for the year as of Thursday's close, and the premarket gains indicate another session of solid gains.
With little on the economic or earnings calendar for Friday, investors are likely to focus on next week's parade of December quarter updates, with about 75 S&P 500 companies set to report.
Overall, S&P 500 earnings in the fourth quarter are estimated to be 4.4% higher than the same period a year ago, at $467.1 billion on a stock-weighted basis. They are expected to increase 7% during the first three months of this year.
In the bond market, yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds held at 4.13% at the start of the New York trading session following yesterday's strong auction of 10-year inflation-protected bonds . Benchmark two-year bonds were set at 4.357%.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, fell 0.2% to 103.333 but remained on track to post its second consecutive weekly gain.
On Wall Street, the key indicator of stock market volatility, the CBOE Group VIX index, fell 7.8% in the overnight session to $13.63, the lowest level since January 5.
Futures contracts linked to the S&P 500, which is down 0.64% for the year, are trading with an opening gain of 23 points, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are forecast for a gain of 170 points.
The Nasdaq, which has risen 0.3% for the year, will open 150 points higher, followed by Apple (AAPL) – Get a free reportNvidia and AMD.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 rose 0.2% in early trading in Frankfurt, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.41% in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 finished up 1.4%, snapping a three-day losing streak and hitting a new 34-year closing high of 35,963.27 points.
Meanwhile, the MSCI regional benchmark excluding Japan gained 1.24% at the close of trading on Friday.
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