U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as Treasury yields extended declines from the previous session, and as weak recent economic data cemented hopes that the Federal Reserve is most likely done raising interest rates.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq eked out marginal gains on Thursday on falling Treasury yields after higher-than-expected jobless claims supported some megacap stocks, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note further easing on Friday, last at 4.3849%. [US/]
Some megacap stocks edged up in premarket trading, with Amazon.com and Nvidia up 0.6% and 0.5% respectively.
Wall Street's three main indexes were poised to gain about 2% for the week, also on course for their third straight week of gains, as multiple data, including the consumer and producer prices index, pointed towards easing inflationary pressures.
The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report on Thursday also aided sentiment, underscoring market expectations that interest rates have peaked.
"Currently, bad news is good news as the market focus is on central banks becoming more accommodative," Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist at Jefferies, said in a note.
While money markets have fully priced in the Fed will hold rates steady at the current 5.25%-5.50% level in its December meeting, they also see a near 69% chance of at least a 25 basis point rate cut in May 2024, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Investors will now await comments from Fed officials, including policy voting member Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, due later in the day for any cues on the monetary policy trajectory.
On the economic data front, markets will monitor the housing starts data for October, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.
At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 100 points, or 0.29%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12 points, or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 13.75 points, or 0.09%.
Among major movers, Gap surged 17.4% before the bell as the apparel retailer posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit due to easing supply expenses and cost-control measures.
ChargePoint Holdings slumped 24.0% as the electric-vehicle charging network provider lowered estimates for its third-quarter revenue in its preliminary results and appointed Rick Wilmer as CEO, effective immediately.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
