Wall Street Set To Bounce Back

(RTTNews) - Early cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive. The producer price inflation and consumer sentiment might be the major announcements today. The investors might be waiting for the Fed talks scheduled today. Asian shares finished mostly positive, while European shares are trading mostly down. As of 8.15 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 87.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 15.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 56.25 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Thursday sharply lower. The Nasdaq plunged 737.66 points or 4.3 percent to 16,387.31, the S&P 500 tumbled 188.85 points or 3.5 percent to 5,268.05 and the Dow slumped 1,014.79 points or 2.5 percent to 39,593.66.

On the economic front, the Baker Hughes Rig Count will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 743, while the U.S. rig count was 590.

The Consumer Sentiment for April will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 55.0, while it was up 57 in the prior month.

The PPI-Final Demand for March will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, while it was at 0.0 percent in February.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem will speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy and participates in moderated conversation before the Arkansas State Bank Department's 29th Annual Day with the Commissioner at 10.00 am ET.

New York Fed President John Williams will speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy before the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce at 11.00 am ET.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 3,238.23.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1 percent to 20,914.69.

Japanese markets tumbled. The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 3.0 percent to 33,585.58, while the broader Topix Index settled 2.9 percent lower at 2,466.91.

Australian markets fell notably. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.8 percent to 7,646.50. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 0.8 percent at 7,853.70.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 28.59 points or 0.40 percent. The German DAX is falling 286.74 points or 1.39 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 39.94 points or 0.50 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 65.97 points or 0.59 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.71 percent.