Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks poised to regain ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session.
Bargain hunting may contribute to early strength on Wall Street after trade war concerns dragged stocks sharply lower on Thursday.
Stocks showed a substantial move to the downside during trading on Thursday, with the major averages adding to the modest losses posted on Wednesday.
The major averages ended the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 724.42 points or 2.9 percent to 23,957.89, the Nasdaq tumbled 178.61 points or 2.4 percent to 7,166.68 points or 2.4 percent to 7,166.68 and the S&P 500 plummeted 68.24 points or 2.5 percent to 2,643.69.
The sell-off on Wall Street reflected concerns about the impact of a potential trade war after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on at least $50 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Trade war concerns have recently hovered over the markets after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department showed a modest uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 17th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged up to 229,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 226,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 225,000.
A separate report released by the Conference Board showed a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.6 percent following a 0.8 percent increase in January. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.3 percent.
Steel stocks turned in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, resulting in a 6.2 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Considerable weakness was also visible among financial stocks, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index slumping by 4.1 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
Oil service, pharmaceutical, transportation, and chemical stocks also moved notably lower amid broad based weakness on Wall Street.
