Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets on Friday, with stocks likely to move to the upside as traders return to their desks following the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday.

Stocks may see initial strength as traders keep a close eye on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

The White House said a final decision on whether to support the Israeli military action against Tehran could come within two weeks.

As the conflict entered the eighth day, Israel and Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at each other with full force.

Residents in southern Israel have been rocked by more Iranian missile strikes, while Israel has continued to hit dozens of targets in Iran.

After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday to end the day roughly flat.

While the Nasdaq inched up 25.18 points or 0.1 percent to 19,546.27, the S&P 500 edged down 1.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,980.87 and the Dow slipped 44.14 points or 0.1 percent to 42,171.66.

The lackluster close on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

The Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25 to 4.50 percent in support of its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run.

The central bank's decision came as it noted swings in net exports have affected data but said recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace.

Despite changes to economic growth and inflation forecasts, Fed officials still seem to expect to two interest rate cuts this year, lowering the rate to a range of 4.0 percent to 3.75 percent by the end of 2025.

The early strength on Wall Street comes despite ongoing concerns about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened the U.S. with "irreparable damage" if the country engages in the clash after President Donald Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

However, Trump told reporters earlier today that Iran has reached out to him about negotiations to end the conflict.

"They want to negotiate," Trump said. "They even suggested that they come to the White House. That's courageous. It's like not easy for them to do."

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly lower in the week ended June 14th.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 245,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 250,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 245,000 from the 248,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 245,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 240,750.

With the uptick, the four-week moving average reached its highest level since hitting 246,000 in the week ended August 19, 2023.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing a steep drop by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of May.

Banking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.9 percent.

Telecom and brokerage stocks also moved to the upside, while energy stocks moved to the downside along with the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are edging up $0.16 to $75.30 a barrel after rising $0.30 to $75.14 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $1.20 to $3,408.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $44.50 to $3,363.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.47 yen versus the 145.45 yen it fetched on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1524 compared to yesterday's $1.1495.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday after the White House said a final decision on whether to support Israeli military action against Tehran could come within two weeks.

As the conflict entered the eighth day, Israel and Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at each other with full force.

Residents in southern Israel have been rocked by more Iranian missile strikes, while Israel has continued to hit dozens of targets in Iran.

The dollar was on the back foot in Asian trading, while gold prices were set for a weekly loss of about 2 percent.

Brent crude futures fell 2 percent but still headed for a strong weekly gain after a 12 percent surge the previous week.

China's Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 3,359.90 after a choppy session as the People's Bank of China left its benchmark lending rates steady, as expected, following recent easing measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.3 percent to 23,530.48.

Japanese markets fell slightly as data showed the country's core inflation rose to 3.7 per cent in May — the highest since January 2023 — raising concerns about tighter monetary policy.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan's may policy meeting minutes showed the board was divided on the future inflation path.

The Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.2 percent to 38,403.23, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.8 percent lower at 2,771.26.

Game maker Nintendo slumped 4.1 percent and Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing fell 1.8 percent while semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest surged 4.2 percent.

Seoul stocks rallied, with big-cap tech shares leading gains on improved investor sentiment. The Kospi surged 1.5percent to 3,021.84, breaching the 3,000-point mark for the first time in more than three years.

Data showed South Korea's producer inflation slowed to 0.3 percent year-on-year in May 2025 from 0.8 percent in April. This is the lowest growth in prices since they fell in July 2023.

Australian markets ended lower as softer metal prices weighed on the mining sector. Banks also fell amid uncertainty around the Israel-Iran conflict.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index hit a two-week low before closing 0.2 percent lower at 8,505.50. The broader All Ordinaries Index slipped 0.2 percent to 8,723.50. Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday after three consecutive sessions of losses.

Sentiment was underpinned somewhat after the White House said President Donald Trump sees a "substantial chance of negotiations" and would decide within two weeks whether to authorize a direct U.S. military strike on Iran.

The German DAX Index is up by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.0 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In economic news, U.K. retail sales fell 2.7 percent on a monthly basis in May, in contrast to the revised 1.3 percent increase in April, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Sales were forecast to drop 0.5 percent.

Separate data revealed that U.K. public sector net borrowing increased in May despite an increase in government receipts. Borrowing increased GBP 0.7 billion from the last year to GBP 17.7 billion.

Elsewhere, German producer prices slid 1.2 percent year-on-year in May, bigger than the 0.9 percent fall in April, Destatis reported. This was the biggest fall since September, when prices were down 1.4 percent.

In corporate news, Thyssenkrupp Nucera has rallied after it signed an agreement to acquire key technology assets from Green Hydrogen Systems.

Drug maker Sanofi has edged up slightly after receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Dupixent (dupilumab) for the treatment of adult patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP).

Meanwhile, homebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings has plunged after announcing leadership changes.

Record Plc, a currency management company, has also moved sharply lower after reporting a decline in fiscal 2025 profit.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Friday said regional manufacturing activity remained weak in the month of June.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity was unchanged in June after jumping to a negative 4.0 in May, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 1.0.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said the survey's future indicators suggest less widespread expectations for growth over the next six months.

The report said the diffusion index for future general activity tumbled to 18.3 in June after soaring to 47.2 in May.

At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of May. The leading economic index is expected to edge down by 0.1 percent in May after slumping by 1.0 percent in April.