U.S. Stocks May Extend Recent Upward Trend In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Friday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

The markets may continue to benefit from optimism about the potential end of the U.S. war with Iran following the latest comments by President Donald Trump.

At an event in Las Vegas on Thursday, Trump claimed the "war in Iran is going along swimmingly" and "should be ending pretty soon."

Trump's latest remarks echo similar optimistic predictions he has made throughout the war, but his comments continue to generate positive sentiment on Wall Street.

"If a resolution can be found in the near term, then perhaps the market will have been right to see this as a blip rather than something which justifies a more significant derating of corporate valuations," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

He added, "Only time will tell, though sooner rather than later there will need to be evidence of Donald Trump's repeated claims that the war will be ending soon coming to fruition."

The upward momentum on Wall Street may also reflect optimism about the strength of corporate earnings ahead of the release of quarterly results from several big-name companies next week.

3M (MMM), UnitedHealth (UNH), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), IBM Corp. (IBM), Tesla (TSLA), American Express (AXP) and Intel (INTC) are among the companies due to report their results.

However, shares of Netflix (NFLX) are plunging by 8.9 percent in pre-market trading after the streaming giant reported better than expected first quarter results but provided disappointing second quarter guidance.

Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day moderately higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 added to the strong gains posted over the few days, reaching new record closing highs.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed 86.69 points or 0.4 percent to 24,102.70, the S&P 500 rose 18.33 points or 0.3 percent to 7,041.28 and the Dow increased 115.00 points or 0.2 percent to 48,578.72.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $4.97 to $89.72 a barrel after surging $3.40 to $94.69 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slipping $15.30 to $4,808.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $34.50 to $4,842.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.91 yen versus the 159.18 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1807 compared to yesterday's $1.1781.