Stock futures moved modestly higher early Friday as Wall Street looked to end the volatile week on a high note.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average implied an opening gain of about 150 points. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures traded flat.
classic reopening plays rose again in premarket trading, building on the momentum from the previous session. United Airlines jumped 2% in early trading, while Carnival and Carnival climbed more than 2.5% each.
Futures were also boosted by bank stocks, which rose after the Fed announced that banks could resume buybacks and raise dividends starting at the end of June. The central bank originally said it would lift pandemic era restrictions in the first quarter, but even the delayed move gives investors more clarity.
“The banking system continues to be a source of strength and returning to our normal framework after this year’s stress test will preserve that strength,” Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles said in a statement.
Shares of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs gained 1% each, while Bank of America also jumped 1.5% in premarket trading.
On the economic data front, investors will get another look at inflation possibilities on Friday, with reports due for personal income and consumption expenditures in February.
The move in futures comes after stocks bounced in afternoon trading on Thursday, with the Dow swinging more than 500 points as cyclical trades gained steam. The strong close broke a recent trend of poor finishes on Wall Street and trimmed the market’s week-to-date losses. The Dow and S&P 500 are now down less than 0.1% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite is in the red by 1.8%.
“If you’re positioned the way we are, which is for a cyclical recovery and being overweight the value sectors, certainly you can’t run a victory lap here. But it is nice to see, after the last six days, that some of the trends that have been in place for the better part of six months seem to be reasserting themselves,” Jason Trennert, CEO of Strategas Research Partners, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
