The major U.S. index futures are pointing to another sharply higher opening on Friday, with the latest developments overseas likely to generate renewed buying interest. Stocks were unable to sustain the initial upward move seen in the previous session but appear poised to take another shot.
The markets are likely to benefit from optimism Greece will finally be able to reach a new agreement with its creditors after the Greek government offered its latest cash-for-reforms proposal. Early buying interest may also be generated by a continued rebound by the Chinese stock markets.
Meanwhile, traders are also likely to keep a close eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who is due to speak about the U.S. economic outlook later in the day. Yellen's remarks are likely to be closely watched for indications about the timing of the first interest rate hike.
After moving sharply higher at the open, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but managed to close modestly higher. The gains on the day came on the heels of the sell-off that was seen on Wednesday.
The major averages closed in positive territory but well off their best levels of the day. The Dow crept up 33.20 points or 0.2 percent to 17,548.62, the Nasdaq rose 12.64 points or 0.3 percent to 4,922.40 and the S&P 500 edged up 4.63 points or 0.2 percent to 2,051.31.
Despite the pullback by the broader markets, significant strength remained visible among airline stocks. Biotechnology, financial, trucking, and oil service stocks also saw considerable strength but closed well off their highs for the session.
On the other hand, computer hardware and semiconductor stocks came under pressure as the day progressed, contributing to the pullback by the broader markets.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are inching up $0.01 to $52.79 a barrel after jumping $1.13 to $52.78 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is currently trading at $1,158.9, down $0.30 from the previous session's close of $1,159.20. On Thursday, gold fell $4.30.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 122.46 yen compared to the 121.34 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1194 compared to yesterday's $1.1036.
Asia
Asian stocks moved mostly higher on Friday as Chinese shares continued to rally in the wake of drastic measures announced by regulators to calm the markets. Most of the major markets moved to the upside, although Japanese stocks bucked the uptrend.
Chinese stocks rallied for the second day in a row amid expectations the country's central bank will unveil further measures over the weekend to support the market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 168.47 points or 4.54 percent to 3,877.80.
Hong Kong stocks also extended their gains for a second consecutive session, with the Hang Seng Index closing up 508.49 points or 2.08 percent at 24,901.28.
Australian shares rose but ended off their day's highs ahead of the weekend EU summit that could decide the fate of Greece in the euro zone. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose over 1 percent in early trading before paring gains to close the session up 21 points or 0.38 percent at 5,492.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks lost ground, led by a sharp decline in market heavyweight Fast Retailing after the Uniqlo chain operator forecast weak sales in the fourth quarter. Shares of Fast Retailing slumped 6 percent.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gave up early gains to close down 75.67 points or 0 38 percent at 19,779.83. The Nikkei fell 3.7 percent for the week, posting its biggest weekly percentage loss since October.
In economic news, an index monitoring corporate service prices in Japan eased 0.2 percent in June following a revised 0.2 percent increase in May. Economists had expected prices to inch up by 0.1 percent
Separately, official data showed that Australian home loan approvals fell a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent in May compared to expectations for a 3 percent decline.
Europe
The European markets have rallied on the day after the Greek government offered a cash-for-reforms proposal to creditors on Thursday. Eurozone finance ministers will meet on Saturday in Brussels to review the Greek request.
The proposal includes spending cuts and tax hikes in exchange for a third bailout. Acceptance of the offer will pave the way for further negotiations between both sides.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' request for at least 53.5 billion euros in bailout funds for the next three years is being presented in Greek parliament for approval today.
On a light day for economic news, figures from Destatis showed German wholesale prices continued to decline in June. Wholesale prices dropped 0.5 percent year-on-year in June, slightly faster than May's 0.4 percent fall.
U.S. Economic Reports
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of May at 10 am ET. Economists expect inventories to increase by about 0.3 percent.
At 12:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is due to deliver a speech on the U.S. economic outlook at the City Club of Cleveland's Sally Gries Forum Honoring Women of Achievement in Cleveland, Ohio.
Stocks in Focus
International warehouse club PriceSmart (PSMT) reported strong sales growth for the third quarter but missed expectations on the earnings front.
Helen of Troy (HELE) reaffirmed its full-year guidance after reporting first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share compared with $1.04 per share a year ago.
Shares of Barracuda Networks (CUDA) fell in after-hours trading despite the company reporting better-than-consensus results for the first quarter.
Apparel retailer Gap (GPS) said its companywide same-store sales declined slightly more than expected in June.
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