BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The market is closely watching the political developments in Washington and the House vote to avoid a shutdown. The investors are eager to know the reactions to President Trump's strategies. Only a few economic and corporate announcements are expected on Friday.
Asian shares finished mostly higher, while European shares are trading up. Initial trends from Futures suggest that Wall Street might open moderately higher.
As of 4.30 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 67 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 6.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 32 points.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday. The Dow dropped 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 slid 0.2 percent while the Nasdaq Composite closed marginally lower.
On the economic front, University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiments for January will be released at 10 am ET. The consensus is for 97.0, while was 95.9 in the prior month.
Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North American Rig Count was 1215, and U.S. rig count was 939. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will participate in a public affairs forum with Nashville Regional Executive Lee Jones and Deputy Regional Executive Laurel Graefe in Nashville, Tennessee, with audience Q&A 8.45 am ET. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles will speak on bank regulation at the 'American Bar Association - Banking Law Committee Annual Meeting' in Washington, with audience Q&A at 1.00 pm ET.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak at the 'Bay Area Council Economic Institute's 11th Annual Forecast Conference: Visualizing the Future of the Bay' in San Francisco, with audience Q&A at 1.30 am ET.
In the corporate sector, Rémy Cointreau reported sales of 862.1 million euros in the first nine months of its 2017/18 financial year, with reported growth of 3.0% and organic growth of 5.5 percent at constant exchange rates and consolidation scope.
AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc. announced the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have approved Lynparza tablets, 300mg twice daily, for use as a maintenance therapy for patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, regardless of their BRCA mutation status, who responded to their last platinum-based chemotherapy. Lynparza is the first poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor to be approved in Japan.
Most Asian stocks closed higher on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index rose 13.11 points or 0.38 percent to 3,487.86 after fourth-quarter growth figures beat expectations. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished up 132.95 points or 0.41 percent at 32,254.89.
Japanese shares eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average inched up 44.69 points or 0.19 percent to 23,808.06 while the broader Topix index closed 0.69 percent higher at 1,889.74.
Australian shares fell modestly, dragged down by material stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 8.80 points or 0.15 percent to 6,005.80, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 11.10 points or 0.18 percent at 6,119.30.
European shares are trading mostly higher. The CAC 40 Index of France is advancing 29.08 points or 0.53 percent, the German DAX is adding 117.46 points or 0.88 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is up 10.55 points or 0.14 percent and the Swiss Market Index is progressing 44.15 points or 0.47 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.66 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX