Stocks May Add To Yesterday's Gains In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the rebound seen in the previous session, stocks may see some further upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are pointing to a sharply higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 220 points.

Early buying interest may be generated by strength in the overseas markets, as stocks around the world have moved sharply higher.

Overseas stocks have benefited from an increase in commodities prices as well as optimism about further stimulus from the European Central Bank.

ECB President Mario Draghi said yesterday the bank would review and possibly reconsider its monetary policy stance at the next meeting in early March.

Not long after the open, trading could be impacted by the release of the National Association of Realtors' report on existing home sales in the month of December.

Economist expect existing home sales to climb to an annual rate of 5.20 million in December after falling to a rate of 4.76 million in November.

The Conference Board is also scheduled to release its leading economic indicators index, which is expected to edge down by 0.1 percent in December.

Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, regaining some ground after falling sharply over the past several sessions. The major averages ended the session in positive territory but off their best levels of the day.

The Dow climbed 115.94 points or 0.7 percent to 15,882.68, the Nasdaq inched up 0.37 points or less than 0.1 percent to 4,472.06 and the S&P 500 rose 9.66 points or 0.5 percent at 1,868.99.

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved notably higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 5.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 2.9 percent.

The major European markets have also shown substantial moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has surged up by 3.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are up by 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.70 to $31.23 a barrel after rallying $1.18 to $29.53 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,096.50, down $1.70 from the previous session's close of $1,098.20. On Thursday, gold fell $8.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 118.25 yen compared to the 117.70 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0804 compared to yesterday's $1.0874.