US stock futures traded mixed before the last trading day of the week.
The major futures indices are up 0.2% for the Dow and down 0.2% on the Nasdaq.
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Traders will monitor inflation on Friday as the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports producer prices for March. According to forecasts by Refinitiv, the headline production price index will rise by 0.5% month-on-month, corresponding to the profit in February.
The US has announced new sanctions against seven Chinese supercomputer manufacturers.
US sanctions Chinese computer makers widen technological battle
China has reported a stronger-than-expected rise in prices that could prompt governments to cool inflation.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.1% and the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9%.
In Europe, the London FTSE fell by 0.1%, the German DAX by 0.1% and the French CAC by 0.3%.
On Thursday, shares closed moderately higher on Wall Street, boosted by the rise in major technology companies benefiting from lower bond yields. However, an increase in jobless claims has scaled down the buying drive.
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The S&P 500 index rose 0.4% to 4,097.17, another record high after new highs were reached on Monday and Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2% to 33,503.57. The technically heavy Nasdaq composition climbed 1% to 13,829.31.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ek: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 33503.57 | +57.31 | + 0.17% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4097.17 | +17.22 | + 0.42% |
Stocks benefited this week as bond yields, which rose steadily higher, retreated from the highs hit earlier in the month.
Investors are showing cautious optimism about the economic recovery, especially in the US, where vaccine distribution is on the rise, and President Joe Biden has proposed a deadline for states to make doses available by April 19.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that a number of factors “put the country on course to make a full reopening of the economy possible quickly.”
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In other trades, US standard crude oil added 12 cents to $ 59.69 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 17 cents to $ 59.60 on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2 cents to $ 63.22.
The Associated Press contributed this report.