The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the upward trend seen over the past several sessions.
The markets may continue to benefit from optimism about the potential end of the U.S. war with Iran following the latest comments by President Donald Trump.
At an event in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump claimed the "war in Iran is going along swimmingly" and "should be ending pretty soon."
Trump's latest remarks echo similar optimistic predictions he has made throughout the war, but his comments continue to generate positive sentiment on Wall Street.
"If a resolution can be found in the near term, then perhaps the market will have been right to see this as a blip rather than something which justifies a more significant derating of corporate valuations," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
He added, "Only time will tell, though sooner rather than later there will need to be evidence of Donald Trump's repeated claims that the war will be ending soon coming to fruition."
The upward momentum on Wall Street may also reflect optimism about the strength of corporate earnings ahead of the release of quarterly results from several big-name companies next week.
3M (MMM), UnitedHealth (UNH), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), IBM Corp. (IBM), Tesla (TSLA), American Express (AXP) and Intel (INTC) are among the companies due to report their results.
However, shares of Netflix (NFLX) are plunging by 8.9 percent in pre-market trading after the streaming giant reported better than expected first quarter results but provided disappointing second quarter guidance.
Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day moderately higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added to the strong gains posted over the few days, reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed 86.69 points or 0.4 percent to 24,102.70, the S&P 500 rose 18.33 points or 0.3 percent to 7,041.28 and the Dow increased 115.00 points or 0.2 percent to 48,578.72.
Stocks continued to benefit from the upward momentum seen over the past few weeks, which has helped the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset the nosedive seen in the weeks after the start of the U.S. war with Iran.
Traders also continued to express optimism about a second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, although a new meeting has not been officially announced.
According to reports, the warring nations are considering extending the ceasefire by two weeks in order to allow more time for talks.
Adding to the positive sentiment, President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
Trump also said he has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for peace talks.
Iran has been demanding that Israel halt its on attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of the current ceasefire.
"It's like the events of the past month-and-a-half have been placed in the rearview mirror by investors," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. "The market's sanguine perspective may be tested if the rhetoric about an end to the fighting isn't matched by reality sooner rather than later."
In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of March
The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.5 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February. Economists had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The unexpected decrease in industrial production partly reflected significant pullbacks in utilities and mining output.
Transportation stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 4.1 percent to a record closing high.
J.B. Hunt (JBHT) helped lead the sector higher, with the transportation and logistics company spiking by 6.3 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Significant strength was also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent surge by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.
Networking, computer hardware, software and oil producer stocks also saw considerable strength, while airline stocks showed a notable move to the downside.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are plunging $4.97 to $89.72 a barrel after surging $3.40 to $94.69 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slipping $15.30 to $4,808.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $34.50 to $4,842.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.91 yen versus the 159.18 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1807 compared to yesterday's $1.1781.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, snapping a three-day rally as investors sought more clarity regarding further developments in a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal ahead of the expiry of a two-week truce next week.
The dollar headed for its second weekly loss, reflecting improving appetite for riskier assets.
Gold fluctuated in a narrow range and Treasuries were little changed, while global crude benchmark Brent slipped nearly 1 percent toward $98 a barrel amid high levels of investor fatigue related to the war in the Gulf region.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a permanent truce while announcing the deployment of an additional 10,000 troops to bolster the U.S. military presence in the region.
China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 4,051.43, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent to 26,160.33.
Trump claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him that Beijing will not supply weapons to Iran. China has firmly rejected the allegations and warned that any economic retaliation such as tariff increases would trigger countermeasures.
Japanese markets fell sharply after touching record highs in the previous session. The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1.8 percent to 58,475.90, with chip-related and other tech stocks coming under selling pressure.
Advantest fell 2.6 percent, SoftBank Group declined 3.1 percent and Tokyo Electron gave up 4 percent. The broader Topix Index settled 1.4 percent lower at 3,760.81.
Seoul stocks snapped a three-day rise ahead of a possible second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks. The Kospi dropped 0.6 percent to 6,191.92 despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing to a tentative ceasefire. SK Hynix fell 2.3 percent and Hanwha Aerospace plunged 6.3 percent.
Australian markets ended marginally lower as banks and miners declined, offsetting a surge in technology stocks after U.S. streaming giant Netflix reported stronger-than-expected profits in the first quarter.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 1.2 percent to 12,905.67 on worries about the impact of the global energy shock.
Europe
European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Friday ahead of potential weekend negotiations between the United States and Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that a second round of talks could take place this weekend, warning that fighting may resume if no deal is finalized.
While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent.
Delivery Hero shares have moved sharply higher as Uber agreed to buy an additional 4.5 percent stake in the German food delivery business.
DiscoverIE has also risen in London. In a pre-close trading update for the fiscal year ending March 2026, the customized electronics manufacturer has said that trading had accelerated sharply in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, train maker Alstom has shown a substantial move to the downside after withdrawing its medium-term forecast.
Orange SA shares have also slumped. A consortium including the French telecom giant, Bouygues Telecom and Free-iliad Group has submitted an offer and started negotiations with the Altice France group to acquire SFR.
U.S. Economic News
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is due to participate in a moderated conversation on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the University of California at Berkeley Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics Spring 2026 Policy Advisory Board meeting at 11:30 am ET.
At 12:15 pm ET, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak before the 2026 CDI Citadel Directors Institute hosted by the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business at The Citadel.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is due to speak on the economic outlook before the Auburn University Department of Economics David Kaserman Memorial Lecture at 2 pm ET.
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April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.