This morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-M3) are trading higher by 4.50 points to $1543.50 per contract. Traders and investors seem to nibbling back into the stock market ahead of the opening bell. Often, on a Friday the major stock indexes will finish the day flat to slightly positive by the end of the session. Rarely will the major stock indexes have a sharp decline on a Friday before the weekend. Remember, if all of this money printing by the central banks is going to work the public needs to spend money over the weekend. After all, consumer spending accounts for roughly 70.0 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in the United States.
Last night, the Asian stock indexes were mostly lower on the session. The Nikkei 225 Index (Japan) was the biggest loser in the region falling by 2.35 percent. Traders should watch for weakness in the Japanese ADR's if the U.S. markets decline. Some leading Japanese related equities that could be volatile today include iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ), CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY), ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS), and Toyota Motor Corp(ADR) (TM).
Below you may find the video.