President Donald Trump asked not to "rush" to resolve the Iran war, as tensions persisted over the control of the Strait of Hormuz. Reports said that Irani deligation will be reaching Pakistani for a second round of talks.
Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly up on Friday.
In the Asian trading session, Brent crude prices remained elevated above $105 a barrel. The dollar index was gaining, while gold dipped below $4,700 an ounce.
Asian shares finished mostly down, while European shares are trading broadly down.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were down 13.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 28.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 341.00 points.
The U.S. major averages remained firmly negative on Thursday. The Nasdaq slid 219.06 points or 0.9 percent to 24,438.50, the S&P 500 declined 29.50 points or 0.4 percent to 7,108.40 and the Dow fell 179.71 points or 0.4 percent to 49,310.32.
On the economic front, the Consumer Sentiment for April will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 48.0, while it was up 47.6 in the prior month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 673 and U.S. rig count was 543.
Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.33 percent to 4,079.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.24 percent to 25,978.07.
Japanese markets rallied. The Nikkei average surged 0.97 percent to 59,716.18. The broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 3,716.59.
Australian stocks ended slightly lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished marginally lower at 8,786.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index slid 0.20 percent to 9,006.40.
European shares are trading down. CAC 40 of France is sliding 40.21 points or 0.49 percent. DAX of Germany is gaining 78.20 points or 0.32 percent. FTSE 100 of England is declining 34.23 points or 0.33 percent. The Swiss Market Index is falling 48.05 points or 0.36 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.12 percent.
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Business News
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.