A retailer works in a booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, USA, 13 July 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures rose on Friday as the big averages tried to post their fourth straight day of earnings, clearing worries about economic growth earlier in the week.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 155 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%. Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 0.5%.
The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.29% on Friday, easing economic concerns raised by the bond market on Monday. The 10-year yield fell to a 5-month low of 1.13% earlier this week.
Strong gains from technology stocks kept investors optimistic amid reports from the biggest names in the industry over the next week. Twitter and Snap both rose Thursday after better-than-expected earnings reports for the second quarter. Twitter traded more than 5% higher in the premarket, while Snap shot up 16.4%.
Facebook gained 2% in premarket trading based on the results of its social media competitors. Alphabet added about 1%. Both will report next week together with Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.
Major US indices closed Thursday’s regular trading session higher and posted a three-day winning streak. The Dow was up 25.35 points, or 0.07%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% higher. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the markets with a gain of 0.36%.
All three US stock averages are on track to close the week in the green after recovering from last week’s losses and sharp sell-off on Monday. The Dow lost more than 700 points at the start of the week as yields fell, unsettling equity investors about the economy.
Tech stocks led the way on Thursday and appeared to do so again on Friday. Microsoft had the biggest influence on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on Thursday; the stock closed 1.7% higher. Salesforce had the biggest positive impact on the Dow, as software stock rose 2.6% on Thursday.
The strength of tech stocks also comes with the continued proliferation of the highly contagious Delta-Covid variant.
“We saw in the depths of the pandemic that tech stocks and their earnings did best at BMO Wealth Management,” said. “Long-term interest rates, which are falling as much as they did, also make these stocks more attractive.”
American Express, Honeywell and Kimberly-Clark will report their winnings before the bell on Friday.
