U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction After Yesterday's Wild Ride

(RTTNews) - Following the wild ride seen in the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by just 0.1 percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves following the volatility seen on Thursday, which saw the markets recover from an early sell-off to close sharply higher.

A mixed batch of earnings news from several financial giants may also contribute to choppy trading on Wall Street.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is likely to see initial strength after reporting third quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) may also move to the upside after the company reported better than expected third quarter revenues.

On the other hand, shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) are seeing notable pre-market weakness after the investment bank reported third quarter results that missed analyst estimates.

Early trading may also be impacted by reaction to the latest U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales unexpectedly came in unchanged in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in September after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in August.

Economists had expected retail sales to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a pullback in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. Ex-auto sales were expected to dip by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report showing another steep drop in U.S. import prices in the month of September.

The report showed import prices plunged by 1.2 percent in September after tumbling by a revised 1.1 percent in August.

Economists had expected import prices to dive by 1.1 percent compared to the 1.0 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department said export prices also slid by 0.8 percent in September after plummeting by a revised 1.7 percent in August. Export prices were expected to decrease by 1.0 percent.

Shortly after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of October.

The consumer sentiment index is expected to inch up to 59.0 in October from 58.6 in September, although traders may pay closer attention to the readings on inflation expectations.

The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on business inventories in the month of August. Business inventories are expected to increase by 0.9 percent in August after climbing by 0.6 percent in July.

Following an early sell-off, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session and firmly into positive territory.

The major averages finished the session not far off their best levels of the day. After plunging by nearly 550 points in early trading, the Dow spiked 827.87 points or 2.8 percent to 30,038.72.

The Nasdaq also surged 232.05 points or 2.2 percent to 10,649.15, while the S&P 500 jumped 92.88 points or 2.6 percent to 3,669.91.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 3.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index shot up by 1.8 percent.

The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are up by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $1.88 to $87.23 a barrel after surging $1.84 to $89.11 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after edging down $0.50 to $1,677 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $16.20 to $1,660.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.78 yen versus the 147.12 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $0.9731 compared to yesterday's $0.9776.