Trading activity is likely to be subdued on Friday amid a shortened session on Wall Street, following Thanksgiving Day. NYSE will close early at 1.00 pm EST today.Trading volumes were muted due to a holiday. The market is hoping for OPEC+ supply cuts as OPEC is meeting today.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly up.
Asian shares were mostly down, while European shares were trading broadly up. As of 7.00 am ET, the Dow futures were up 96.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 4.50 points, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were declining 11.75 points.
The Dow advanced 184.74 points or 0.5 percent to35,273.03 and the S&P 500 climbed 18.43 points or 0.4 percent to 4,556.62, reaching their best closing levels in over three months, while the Nasdaq rose 65.88 points or 0.5 percent to 14,265.86.
On the economic front, the Flash Composite Purchasing Manager's Index or PMI for November will be issued at 9.45 am ET. The consensus for the manufacturing Index is 49.9 and the Services Index consensus is 50.5.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week will be released at 4.30 pm ET. In the prior week, the level was at $7.815 trillion.
A meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will be held today.Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday.
China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.68 percent to 3,040.97.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.96 percent to 17,559.42.
Japanese stocks gained after a holiday. The Nikkei average pared early gains to end 0.52 percent higher at 33,625.53. The broader Topix index settled 0.54 percent higher at 2,390.94 as a weaker yen bolstered exporters' stocks. Automakers Honda Motor, Nissan, Toyota, and Mazda Motor climbed 2-3 percent.
Australian markets edged up slightly. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.17 percent to 7,040.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.14 percent higher at 7,244.10.
European shares are trading mostly higher. CAC 40 of France is progressing 30.65 points or 0.42 percent. DAX of Germany is adding 24.09 points or 0.15 percent. FTSE 100 of England is sliding 12.94 points or 0.17 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 23.25 points or 0.21 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.22 percent.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.