WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday as traders keep a close eye on developments at the G20 summit in Japan. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 85 points.
Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to news that all 18 of the largest banks in the U.S. passed the Federal Reserve's annual stress test.
The Fed said it is not objecting to the capital plans of the 18 firms but is requiring the U.S. division of Credit Suisse to address limited weaknesses identified from the test.
Financial giants such as Goldman Sachs (GS), J.P. Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), and Citigroup (C) celebrated by announcing dividend increases and share repurchases.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders wait for news out of the highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Trump and Xi are not expected to come out of the meeting with a finalized trade deal, but traders will be looking for signs of progress toward kick-starting the stalled negotiations between the two economic superpowers.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing personal income increased by more than expected in the month of May, while personal spending rose in line with estimates.
Personal income climbed by 0.5 percent in May, matching the advance seen in April. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.3 percent.
The report also said personal spending rose by 0.4 percent in May following an upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in April.
Economists had expected spending to climb by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.3 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Just after the start of trading, MNI Indicator is scheduled to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of June.
The Chicago Business Barometer is expected to dip to 53.1 in June from 54.2 in May, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.
The University of Michigan is due to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of June. The consumer sentiment index for June is expected to upwardly revised to 98.0 from the preliminary reading of 97.9, which was down from 100.0 in May.
Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Thursday, although the Dow ended the day modestly lower amid a steep drop by shares of Boeing (BA).
The Dow edged down 10.24 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 26,526.58. with a 2.9 percent slump by Boeing weighing on the blue chip index.
Boeing came under pressure after the FAA said it recently discovered a new potential risk with the 737 Max aircraft that the aerospace giant must mitigate before the plane is returned to service.
On the other hand, the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 57.79 points or 0.7 percent to 7,967.76 and the S&P 500 rose 11.14 points or 0.4 percent to 2,924.92 after closing lower for four straight sessions.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are up by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.17 to $59.60 a barrel after inching up $0.05 to $59.43 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after falling $3.40 to $1,412 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $4.90 to $1,416.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 107.81 yen versus the 107.79 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1378 compared to yesterday's $1.1369.
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