US pre-open: Futures higher as White House averts government shutdown.


Wall Street futures were pointing to modest gains ahead of the bell on Friday in what has otherwise been a losing week for the blue-chip Dow Jones.

New York Stock Exchange

Source: Sharecast

As of 1245 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.57%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.86% and 1.14% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 537.36 points lower on Thursday, while the S&P 500 was dragged into correction territory for the year, joining the Nasdaq.

Futures traded higher on the back of news that a Federal government shutdown looked like it would be avoided after Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said he wouldn't stand in the way of a Republican funding bill.

However, major indices were all more than 4% lower for the week as Donald Trump's seemingly random tariff policies continued to foster uncertainty and market volatility. Ahead of the bell, the Dow Jones was on track for its worst weekly performance since June 2022.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "It certainly feels as if risk sentiment has begun to turn positive again. But it's too early to sound the 'all clear' as it's important to bear in mind the factors which helped to trigger the pullback, while considering just how oversold US stock indices had become.

"The big test will come as we head into the weekend. Will investors see this as an opportunity to increase their equity exposure at lower prices, or will they look to unload more on bounces? It’s possible that we'll have a better feeling for how things stand by tonight's close."

On the macro front, a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's March consumer sentiment index will be published at 1400 GMT.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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