WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving notably higher over the past few sessions, stocks may give back some ground in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 37 points.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders look to cash in on recent gains after the S&P 500 reached a record closing high in the previous session.
Geopolitical concerns may also contribute to a pullback by stocks amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Reports suggest President Donald Trump approved military strikes on several Iranian targets in retaliation for Iran downing a U.S. drone before abruptly pulling back.
Traders may also express caution ahead of next week's G20 summit in Japan, where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in an effort to revive trade talks.
Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of May.
Existing home sales are expected to jump by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.25 million in May after falling by 0.4 percent to a rate of 5.19 million in April.
Stocks fluctuated after an initial jump but maintained a positive bias throughout the trading session on Thursday before closing significantly higher. With the continued advance, the S&P 500 ended the session at a new record closing high.
The Dow and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session in late-day trading but pulled back going into the close. The Dow jumped 249.17 points or 0.9 percent to 26,753.17, the Nasdaq climbed 64.02 points or 0.8 percent to 8,051.34 and the S&P 500 surged up 27.72 points or 1 percent to 2,954.18.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.3 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.45 to $57.52 a barrel after spiking $3.10 to $57.13 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after skyrocketing $48.10 to $1,396.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging up $0.80 to $1,397.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 107.44 yen versus the 107.27 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1318 compared to yesterday's $1.1293.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News