Futures Point To Positive Open For Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Reports on Producer Price Inflation as well as the readings on Inflation Expectations might get special attention on Friday. Geopolitical developments and oil price changes also might be of interest to investors today.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open modestly higher.

Asian shares finished broadly up, while European shares are trading positive.

As of 7.00 am ET, the Dow futures were up 67.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 14.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 54.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished Thursday's session firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 123.45 points or 1.1 percent to 11,082.00, the S&P 500 advanced 29.59 points or 0.8 percent to 3,963.51 and the Dow climbed 183.56 points or 0.6 percent to 33,781.48.

On the economic front, the Labor Department's Producer Price Index or PPI- Final Demand for November will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is up 0.2 percent, while it was up 0.2 percent in the prior month.

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment for December will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 56.8, while it was up 56.8 in November.

The Wholesale Inventories - Preliminary for October will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.8 percent, while it was up 0.6 percent in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 979 and the U.S. rig count was 784.

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Friday. Chinese shares were slightly up. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.30 percent to 3,206.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied 2.32 percent to 19,900.87.

Japanese stocks rallied on Thursday. The Nikkei average climbed 1.18 percent to 27,901.01, marking its biggest daily gain since Nov. 11. The broader Topix index jumped 1.03 percent to settle at 1,961.56.

Australian markets advanced after three consecutive sessions of losses. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 0.53 percent to 7,213.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed half a percent higher at 7,406.30.

European shares are trading higher. CAC 40 of France is gaining 20.51 points or 0.31 percent. DAX of Germany is adding 83.77 points or 0.59 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 4.70 points or 0.07 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 55.14 points or 0.50 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.41 percent.