Upbeat Amazon Results May Contribute To Continued Strength On Wall Street
(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session sharply higher, stocks are likely to see further upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.
Technology stocks appear poised to extend yesterday's rally amid a sharp increase by shares of online retail giant Amazon (AMZN).
Shares of Amazon are soaring by more than 10 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue and cloud growth.
Overall buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as the price of crude oil shows a strong move back to the upside following yesterday's pullback.
U.S. crude oil futures are surging by nearly 2 percent, contributing to an increase in treasury yields amid concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
A steep drop by shares of Apple (AAPL) may also limit the upside for the broader markets, with the tech giant plunging by 8 percent in pre-market trading.
Apple is under pressure after the company reported fiscal third quarter revenue that exceeded analyst estimates but issued weak guidance for the current quarter.
Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday, largely offsetting the sell-off seen late in Wednesday's session. The major averages showed a strong move to the upside early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq helped lead the way higher, spiking 679.24 points or 2.8 percent to 25,122.18. The S&P 500 also shot up 121.48 points or 1.7 percent to 7,437.63 and the Dow jumped 613.92 points or 1.2 percent to 52,508.06.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 2225 Index soared by 4 percent, while South Korea's Kospi skyrocketed by 17.9 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.47 to $85.06 a barrel after slumping $0.87 to $83.59 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after surging $63.60 to $4,160.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $56.10 to $4,104.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 160.42 yen versus the 159.51 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1485 compared to yesterday's $1.1527.
