US pre-open: Major indices look set to wrap up winning week at new highs.


Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Friday as major indices look set to wrap up a winning week at new highs.

New York Stock Exchange

Source: Sharecast

As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.14%, while both S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures had the indices opening 0.12% firmer.

The Dow closed 229.71 points higher on Thursday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both settled at new record highs on the back of a raft of better-than-expected economic data and solid Q2 earnings.

Market participants have seemingly shrugged off reports that Donald Trump was gearing up to fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell despite receiving any real clarity on the matter, with the president both denying the claims and saying that he would not "rule out anything".

Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "Federal Reserve member Christopher Waller once again made a pitch to distinguish himself from the rest of the FOMC, reiterating his belief that the Fed should be cutting rates in July. With the end of Powell's tenure drawing ever closer, this appears to be a strategic push to demonstrate that he is willing to take a more proactive approach to easing despite the obvious risks ahead.

"Those risks are centred around inflation, with tariff levels expected to drive prices higher in the second half of the year. Nonetheless, with Waller claiming that rates should be 125-150bp lower, he is clearly taking a hard-line view that is focused more on economic strength than price stability."

On the macro front, June building permits and housing starts numbers will be out at 1330 BST, while a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will follow at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, streaming giant Netflix was trading lower in pre-market despite posting an earnings and revenue beat and raising FY revenue guidance.

3M and American Express were both scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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