S&P 500 futures open with positive start to the week

112
3
S&P 500 futures open with positive start to the week

The index futures suggests that the U.S. stocks could get off to a slightly positive start on Friday. Two key economic data will likely lead to trading direction in the final session of the week, despite the early signals.

The major averages snapped their multi-session losses on Thursday as weak jobless claims encouraged traders to hope for a Fed pivot.

IT, healthcare, consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks found strong buying interest, while energy stocks moved to the downside.

If the November consumer and producer price inflation readings show moderate inflation and dovish comments come out of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, the trifecta would be hit, paving the way for the Santa Claus rally, Daniel Berkowitz, senior investment strategist at Prudent Management Associates, said.

The analyst is cautious about the new year.

The gifts of a Christmas rally may be forgotten by the year 2023, because of the uncertainties and wildcards. He said that he still sees myriad investment risks on the horizon, and we do still think a moderately defensive posture is appropriate for investors across equity and fixed income allocations.

According to Benzinga Pro data, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.16%, to $396.88, and the Invesco QQQ Trust increased 0.31%, to $284.72.

See Also: Best Penny Stocks.

The Labor Department is due to release the producer price inflation report for November at 8: 30 a.m. EST. On average, economists expect the index to show a month-over-month increase of 0.2%, the same pace as in October. The annual rate of the PPI is expected to drop from 8% to 7.2%. Core PPI may have increased 5.9% year-over-year, compared to a 6.7% increase in October.

The Commerce Department will release the wholesale inventories report for October at 10 a.m. EST. The month-over-month change is expected to be steady at 0.8%.

The consumer sentiment index is due to be released by the University of Michigan around the same time. The headline index is expected to come in at 56.9 compared to 56.8 in November. The one-year and five-year inflation expectations are likely to be the focus of the investor's attention on the two inflation readings in the report.

Li Auto Inc.'s earnings fell by more than 3%.

After six straight sessions of losses, crude oil futures rebounded moderately. There are expectations that the global economy will slip into a recession.

A barrel of crude oil rose 0.76%, to $72 a barrel, in the European session.

The major Asia-Pacific markets advanced on Friday, as a result of the higher close on Wall Street overnight. Hong Kong s Hang Seng once again led the gains, as it settled 2.32% higher, at 27,901. European stocks rose in late morning trading on Friday, although the mood was reflected by caution ahead of key economic data from the U.S.