Stocks were looking to a positive open on Friday as the post-tariff panic continues to subside.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was looking at a 18-point gain in futures trading. The index was up for a fourth straight day on Thursday and is up about 22% from its lows after President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff reveal set off a violent market selloff.
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The Nasdaq Composite is likely to open higher, and futures trading suggests the Dow Jones Industrial Average will open higher. Futures put the Dow up 139 points.
Two important economic reports are on tap this morning:
Housing starts. The Commerce Department was expected to report starts were running at an annualized rate of 1.32 million units for April. The housing market has been struggling all year under the weight of relatively high interest rates, and many homebuilders have been subsidizing mortgages to get deals to close.
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, due at 10 a.m. ET. The index is widely watched as a potential signal of how confident Americans are about the economy. Earlier reports have suggested lots of worry thanks to tariffs and other issues.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 Index were back into positive territory on the year after the market enjoyed a decent rally on Thursday. The S&P ended the day up 0.4% year-to-date and the Nasdaq-100 is now up 1.6% on the year. .
Related: Goldman Sachs resets interest rate cut forecast, recession outlook
The big rally that started in mid-April has caused many analysts to boost their year-end forecasts on the economy.
Goldman Sachs recently forecast 1% growth on the year, up from 0.5%. It also trimmed its odds for a recession to 35%
The Dow and Nasdaq Composite were off 0.6% and 1% for the year, respectively before the open.
A big deal announcement to excite investors: Charter Communications (CHTR) and privately held Cox Communications agreed to merge in a deal valued at as much as $36 billion. Charter shares were up more than 4% in premarket trading.
Interest rates appeared benign, with the 10-year Treasury note yielding 4.408%, down slightly from Thursday.
Crude oil was up slightly at $61.21 a barrel in futures trading. AAA’s national average gasoline price was unchanged at $3.192 a gallon.
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
