(Editor’s note: The futures moves, ETFs data and the stocks in focus section were updated to include the latest information)
U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday, as investors built on recent optimism that tensions in the Middle East may be easing.
President Donald Trump said the Iran war “should be ending pretty soon,” describing developments as “going along swimmingly” during remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The comments followed the announcement of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Recent optimism around a potential peace deal has lifted equities, putting all three major indexes on track for weekly gains. The Dow is up about 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced roughly 3.3% and 5.2%, respectively.
Investors will also watch earnings from financial firms on Friday, including State Street (NYSE:STT), Truist Financial Corp (NYSE:TFC) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE:FITB).
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.305%, and the two-year bond was at 3.773%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.57% |
| S&P 500 | 0.39% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.39% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.56% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.57% at $705.64, while the QQQ gained 0.62% to $644.41.
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