Stock futures rise as Wall Street looks to snap a 3-week losing streak
U.S. stock markets index futures rose Friday following a choppy trading session as traders considered Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 238 points, or 0.75%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.86% and 1.11%, respectively. Shares of DocuSign surged more than 17% in extended trading after the electronic agreements company reported an earnings beat. The company also issued a third-quarter revenue forecast that was above expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 193 points, or 0.61%, during the regular session on Thursday — closing higher after alternating between gains and losses throughout the day. The S&P 500 rose 0.66%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60%. Those gains put all three major averages on pace to snap a three-week losing streak. Through Thursday, the Dow is up 1.45%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 2.09%, and the Nasdaq Composite is 1.99% higher. Stocks have been volatile recently as expectations of a 0.75 percentage point rate hike this month grew on Wall Street, after the Fed chair said again that he is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation. “I think that people are grossly underestimating what the Fed is going to have to do to fight inflation,” Richard Bernstein Advisors CEO Richard Bernstein said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “It’s incredibly ironic that investors are even considering a Fed pivot when the real fed funds rate remains about as most negative as it has historically been. So the Fed isn’t even really heartily fighting inflation yet. We don’t have a positive real fed funds rate. It’s hard to argue that we should turn wildly bullish anytime soon,” he added. Markets in Asia-Pacific rose Friday as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments as he vowed to raise rates to tackle inflation “until the job is done.” In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.53% to close at 28,214.75 and the Topix ticked up 0.4% to 1,965.53. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also rose 0.66%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 2.69% higher at 19,362.25 and its tech index also climbed 2.6%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.82% to close at 3,262.05 and the Shenzhen Component advanced 1.11% to 11,877.79. Oil rose on Friday supported by real and threatened cuts to supply, although crude was set for a second weekly decline as aggressive interest rate hikes and China’s COVID-19 curbs weighed on the demand outlook. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to halt oil and gas exports to Europe if price caps are imposed and a small cut to OPEC+ oil output plans announced this week also supported prices. Brent crude rose $1.36, or 1.5%, to $90.51 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $1.55, or 1.9%, to $85.09. Gold prices rose over 1% on Friday to a more than one-week high as a weaker dollar boosted demand for the yellow metal, even as U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers vowed to raise interest rates to tame inflation pressures. Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,727.40 per ounce. Bullion was heading for its first weekly gain in four, up about 1% so far this week. U.S. gold futures gained 1.1% to $1,739. “Coupled with the correction in the dollar, an easing in the 10-year U.S. treasury provides a welcome wind for gold,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.