Investors might be focusing on Import and Export prices, Industrial Production and Consumer Sentiment on Friday.<\/p>\n
Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open mostly up.<\/p>\n
Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading higher.<\/p>\n
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 64.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 2.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 21.75 points.<\/p>\n
The major averages remained firmly in positive territory on Thursday. The Dow jumped 331.58 points or 1.0 percent to 34,907.11, the Nasdaq climbed 112.47 points or 0.8 percent to 13,926.05 and the S&P 500 advanced 37.66 points or 0.8 percent to 4,505.10.<\/p>\n
On the economic front, the Empire State Manufacturing Index for September will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 10.0, while it was down 19.0 in the prior month.<\/p>\n
The Import and Export Prices for August will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.4 percent in July.<\/p>\n
The Industrial Production for August is scheduled at 9.15 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.1 percent, while it was up 1.0 percent in the previous month. <\/p>\n
The Consumer Sentiment for September will be issued at 10.00 a.m. ET. The consensus is 69.2, while it was up 69.5 in the prior month. <\/p>\n
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 p.m. ET. In the prior week, the North American rig count was 814 and the U.S. rig count was 632.<\/p>\n
Asian stocks advanced on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.28 percent to 3,117.74. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 0.75 percent to close at 18,182.89.<\/p>\n
Japanese shares touched a two-month high. The Nikkei average gained 1.10 percent to close at 33,533.09, marking its highest closing level since July 3. The broader Topix index rose 0.95 percent to 2,428.38, a more than 33-year high.<\/p>\n