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Stock futures rose early Friday ahead of a key inflation print that may dictate how many more times the Federal Reserve cuts rates this year.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials captured 57 points, or 0.1%, to 46,979.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 19 points, or 0.3%, to 6,794.
Futures for the NASDAQ soared 114.50 points, or 0.5%, to 25,368.50.
Stocks are on pace to notch weekly gains, after Thursday’s moves erased Wednesday’s losses. The S&P 500 is tracking for a 1.1% gain, while the NASDAQ and the 30-stock Dow are up nearly 1.2% week to date.
A number of strong earnings results helped sentiment on Friday. Intel shares popped 7% in early trading after the chipmaker reported third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates, while Procter & Gamble gained 2% after its first-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street’s expectations.
Meanwhile, Target shares rose marginally after the retailer announced it would slash its corporate workforce by 8%, marking its first major layoff in a decade.
The three major U.S. indexes ended the previous session higher, driven by inflows into tech stocks and bullish sentiment heading into the heat of third-quarter earnings season.
Stock futures largely ignored a proclamation from President Donald Trump that he was ending trade negotiations with Canada because of an advertisement used by Ontario featuring President Ronald Reagan.
Investors are awaiting Friday’s release of the September consumer price index report, which has grown in importance given the lack of federal data being released amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
The CPI, which was supposed to be released Oct. 15, will be the last economic reading before the Federal Reserve’s October meeting next week.
Economists expect the CPI for September came in at a 3.1% annual rate, or 0.2 percentage point higher than the August level, per Dow Jones estimates. Excluding food and energy, core CPI is projected to show a 3.1% annual rate, the same as August.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.4% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.7%.
Oil prices added 40 cents to $62.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices descended $74.80 to $4,070.80 U.S. per ounce.
