Wall Street Might Open Cautious In View Of Middle East Tensions
(RTTNews) - After a couple of days of strikes between the U.S. and Iran, global mediation talks are on to curb the situation in the Middle East. Investors are hopeful that the global supply might not be affected, despite the escalation of hostilities.
Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares finished broadly higher.
The U.S. dollar index was subdued at $4,110 an ounce. Oil prices were a tad lower. Brent crude prices were down 0.2 percent at $76.16 a barrel.
Gold prices traded lower, while Spot gold dipped to $4,102.31 an ounce.
In the U.K. majority of Labour MPs supported Andy Burnham to be the next Prime Minister to replace Keir Starmer. Reports said the declaration will be on next week and the new Prime Minister will assume the office by the third week of July.
Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 76.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 4.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were declining 103.25.
The U.S. major averages finished gained on Thursday. The Nasdaq jumped 336.24 points or 1.3 percent to 26,206.89. The S&P 500 advanced 60.93 points or 0.8 percent to 7,543.64, while the narrower Dow rose 139.02 points or 0.3 percent to 52,487.41.
On the economic front, the Baker Hughes rig count for the week will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 770, while the U.S. rig count was 580.
Asian stocks rallied on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 1 percent to 3,996.16 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.6 percent to 24,175.12.
Japanese markets posted strong gains. The Nikkei average surged 1.20 percent to 68,557.73. The broader Topix index settled 0.39 percent higher at 4,036.08.
Australian markets ended modestly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose half a percent to 8,806, snapping a four-day losing streak as falling oil prices helped ease pressure on benchmark bond yields.
The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.47 percent higher at 9,003.70.
