Dow Jones futures up 45 pts; Debt talks, PCE basics in focus

Investing.com — U.S. stocks are expected to open slightly higher on Friday, with investors awaiting more news on negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, as well as the indicator release. inflation rate favorite of the Federal Reserve.

At 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the contract was up 45 points, or 0.1%, trading 7 points, or 0.2%, higher, and up 40 points, or 0.3 %.

The technology sector closed up 1.7% on Thursday, buoyed by Nvidia (NASDAQ:), the world’s most valuable semiconductor firm, which is forecasting a record quarter on rising demand for chips that help drive technology forward. of artificial intelligence.

The broad-based gained 0.9%, while the former fell 0.1% as talks on lifting the US government’s debt ceiling stalled.

President Biden said on Thursday progress had been made in his ongoing negotiations with top House Republican Kevin McCarthy, and trendswire reported the two sides are putting the finishing touches on a deal that will raise the debt ceiling. from the US government by $31.4 trillion over two years.

That said, any deal would have to be approved by both the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the June 1 deadline is fast approaching.

The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation will be released later on Friday, with the price index, which strips out more volatile items like energy and food, expected to rise 4.6% annually and 0.3% monthly. in April.

The University of Michigan indicator for May will also be released later on Friday.

Data showing a resilient economy, as well as aggressive comments from several Fed speakers, have persuaded some investors to start reassessing their forecasts for the central bank’s future path.

Expectations are now split almost evenly between a rate hike and a pause in June, while the likelihood of cuts later this year is rapidly falling.

On the corporate front, earnings season is coming to a close, but retailer Gap (NYSE:) and semiconductor stocks Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:) are seen trading substantially higher pre-market, while Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) tumbled after posting after the close. Thursday.

Oil prices rose on Friday, rebounding after the previous session’s weakness, as Russia played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at their meeting next month.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday he expects no further steps from the group of top producers at the June 4 meeting, undermining comments by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman earlier in the week. that speculators should “beware”.

As of 06:50 ET, futures were trading 0.6% higher at $72.28 a barrel, while the contract was up 0.4% at $76.53.

Both benchmark indices were still on track for small gains this week on signs of tighter supply in the US and improving demand for fuel in the world’s largest oil consumer.

It was also up 0.5% at $1,952.85 an ounce, while trading 0.2% higher at $1.0747.