Plus, the weekend is nearly here!
1. Stocks are steady
1. Stocks are steady
U.S. stock futures are holding steady after markets made gains Thursday, with the Dow turning positive for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 0.9%, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq added 0.2%.
That erased a scary start to 2016 that pushed the Dow down by nearly 2,000 points.
The rebound has been driven by a spike in oil and fading fears of a recession in the U.S. Oil has bounced more than 50% off its low to trade around $40 a barrel and the U.S. economy continues to grow, despite the global slowdown.
2. International markets overview
2. International markets overview
European markets are trending higher in early trading.
The main Russian index is also rising as traders prepare for the central bank to issue a decision on interest rates. The key interest rate has stayed level at 11% since the end of July, when it was cut from 11.5%.
Asian markets ended the day in positive territory, except the Nikkei in Japan which dropped by 1.3%.
3. Dollar up today after worst one-day drop since 2009
3. Dollar up today after worst one-day drop since 2009
The dollar regained some ground against the euro and the yen on Friday, as markets digested the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy statement and as investors eyed the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data due later in the day. EUR/USD slipped 0.19% to 1.1295.
The greenback recovered from broad losses posted after the Fed left its monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday and said that it is likely to raise interest rates twice this year – and not four times, as initially estimated.
Fed policymakers said the U.S. economy faces risks from an uncertain global economy, although moderate growth and "strong job gains" would allow it to tighten policy this year.
The dollar found some support after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week.
4. U.S. consumer sentiment ahead
4. U.S. consumer sentiment ahead
In a light economic calendar, investors will focus on the publication stateside of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment for March at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Markets will also pay attention to the first speeches from Fed officials after last Wednesday’s monetary policy decision.
New York Fed president William Dudley and Boston Fed Eric Rosengren will both be talking about bank supervision at 13:00GMT, or 9:00AM ET, and 15:00GMT, or 11:00AM ET, respectively.
