By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening with small gains Friday, on course to register a positive week as investors digest fresh commentary from Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of the latest services activity data.
At 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 60 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures traded 12 points, or 0.3% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 45 points, or 0.4%.
The main equity indices closed Thursday with strong gains, boosted by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic pinning his colors firmly to the post of a 25-basis-point hike later this month, and touted a pause on hikes by the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 300 points, or 1.1% higher, its best day since mid-February. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%. All three indices are set to record a winning week.
The Fed is widely expected to raise rates again when it meets in two weeks’ time and again in May. Recent hotter-than-expected consumer price data has concerned the market that even more hikes would be needed to tame inflation.
Next week sees the February official jobs report, but attention Friday will be on the ISM non-manufacturing PMI for February at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT).
“Remember that a surprise drop to 49.2 (i.e. recessionary territory) in the December read was the trigger for a dovish repricing in Fed rate expectations,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “Consensus is centered around a marginal decrease from 55.2 to 54.5, which would confirm speculation on recession is too premature and would continue to endorse the Fed’s hawkish rhetoric.”
There is also an array of Fed officials scheduled to speak at various times today, including Dallas Fed President Lori Logan, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman, and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin.
In corporate news, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) sold over 74,402 China-made electric vehicles in February, up over 31% from a year earlier, China Passenger Car Association data showed on Friday.
Oil prices traded marginally lower Friday, but are set for weekly gains as optimism about a recovery in fuel demand from China, the largest crude importer in the world, outweighed concerns over rising U.S. stockpiles and likely tightening monetary policy.
By 07:00 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.5% lower at $77.78 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.6% to $84.27.
Brent has climbed over 2% so far this week, on course for a second consecutive week of gains, while WTI has jumped around 2%, rebounding from a small loss the previous week.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,854.85/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0616.