The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to see further upside following the rally seen over the course of the previous session.
Apple (AAPL) may help lead an extended advance on Wall Street, as the tech giant is surging by 3.6 percent in pre-market trading.
The jump by Apple comes after the company reported better than expected fiscal second quarter results and forecast revenues for the current quarter above analyst estimates.
Early buying interest may also be generated by an extended pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by more than 2 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures showed a significant downturn on Thursday, slumping by 1.7 percent after reaching their highest levels in four years.
The continued decrease by crude oil prices comes after an Axios reporter said Iran has delivered its response to the latest U.S. amendments on the agreement to end the war through Pakistani mediators.
After seeing considerable volatility early in the session, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.
The major averages gave back some ground going into the end of the day but still posted strong gains. The Dow surged 790.33 points or 1.6 percent to 49,652.14, the S&P 500 jumped 73.06 points or 1 percent to 7,209.01 and the Nasdaq advanced 219.08 points or 0.9 percent to 24,892.31.
The Dow turned in a strong performance throughout the day amid a sharp increase by shares of Caterpillar (CAT), with the construction equipment spiking by 9.9 percent.
Shares of Caterpillar soared after the company reported better than expected first quarter results and raised its full-year revenue forecast.
Chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) also skyrocketed by 15.1 percent on the day after reporting second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) also surged by 10 percent after the Google parent better than expected first quarter revenues.
On the other hand, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and software giant Microsoft (MSFT) moved sharply lower amid concerns about their plans to increase spending.
Traders also kept an eye on the price of crude oil, which pulled back sharply after soaring to its highest levels in four years despite lingering concerns about the Middle East conflict.
Networking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index spiking by 3.8 percent to a new record closing high.
Substantial strength was also visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index.
Eli Lilly (LLY) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 9.8 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results and raising its full-year sale outlook.
Computer hardware, gold, telecom and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength, while software stocks bucked the uptrend amid the steep drop by Microsoft.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are plunging $2.25 to $102.82 a barrel after tumbling $1.81 to $105.70 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after jumping $68.10 to $4,629.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $15.40 to $4,614.20 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.52 yen versus the 156.57 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1763 compared to yesterday's $1.1730.
Asia
Asian bourses closed on a positive note on Friday, tracking Wall Street's strong performance on Thursday. Gains were limited as markets suspected currency market interventions by the Japanese government.
The persisting geopolitical stress from the Middle East also capped gains. Markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for a holiday.
The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.4 percent to close trading at 59,513.12, amidst caution as the yen's sharp rally led markets to suspect official intervention by the government in the currency market. The day's trading ranged between 59,706.70 and 59,263.50.
TOTO jumped 18.4 percent followed by Sumitomo Corp. that rallied 17.1 percent. Alps Alpine led losses with a decline of almost 15 percent. Nippon Electric Glass also declined 13.7 percent.
Australia's S&P/ASX200 Index closed trading at 8,729.80, climbing 0.7 percent from the previous close of 8,665.80, supported by strong PMI data from China. The day's trading ranged between 8,665.80 and 8,764.10. The index has gained 7.2 percent over the course of the past year.
Liontown Resources led gains with a surge of 12.3 percent followed by IperionX that gained 9.8 percent. Resmed slipped 3.5 percent followed by ANZ Holdings that declined 2.8 percent.
The NZX 50 Index of the New Zealand Stock Exchange jumped 1.1 percent to close trading at 13,039.20. The day's trading ranged between 12,882.32 and 13,039.20. The index has gained 7.3 percent over the past year.
Fletcher Building topped gains with a surge of 3.94 percent. Goodman Property Trust U followed with gains of 3.7 percent. Serko led losses with a decline of 5.3 percent, followed by Sky Network Television that shed 2.5 percent.
Europe
With most major markets in Europe closed for May Day, the U.K. stock market's benchmark index FTSE 100 Index has fallen on Friday, weighed down by losses in financial and mining sectors. Worries about the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East also weighed on sentiment.
The FTSE 100, which dropped to 10,293.03, was down 59.89 points or 0.59% at 10,318.93 a little while ago.
Miners Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo lost 5.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Antofagasta drifted down nearly 2 percent and Glencore lost 1.25 percent, while Anglo American Plc slipped nearly 1 percent.
Natwest Group shed 4.2 percent. The lender's bottom line came in at GBP1.507 billion, or GBP0.178 per share. This compares with GBP1.478 billion, or GBP0.172 per share, last year. Revenue for the period rose 0.8 percent to GBP4.358 billion from GBP4.324 billion last year.
Lloyds Banking Group fell nearly 2 percent and Standard Chartered lost 1.4 percent, while Barclays dropped 0.7 percent.
Weir Group, Lion Finance, United Utilities, Severn Trent, AstraZeneca, Spirax Group, Rightmove, Next and IMI declined by 1.4 percent-3.7 percent.
Pearson gained 2.7 percent. DCC moved up 2.15 percent, while Metlen Energy & Metals, Unilever and Whitbread advanced by 1 percent-1.8 percent.
On the economic front, data published by Nationwide Building Society showed house prices in UK grew by more-than-expected 3 percent on a yearly basis in April despite Middle East uncertainty, following an increase of 2.2 percent in March. Prices were expected to rise again by 2.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, house prices climbed unexpectedly by 0.4 percent but slower than the previous month's 0.9 percent increase. Prices were forecast to drop 0.3 percent.
Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI climbed to 53.7 in April from 51 in the prior month, slightly above the preliminary estimate of 53.6. This marked the highest reading since May 2022.
Net mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK rose to 63,531 in March 2026, up from a revised 62,708 in February and surpassing market expectations of 60,000, data from the Bank of England showed. This marked the highest level since November 2025, exceeding the six-month average of around 63,200.
U.S. Economic News
The Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of April at 10 am ET.
The manufacturing PMI is expected to inch up to 53.0 in April from 52.7 in May, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.