Wall Street Aims To Open Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - Economic announcements such as retail sales, import and export prices might as well as earnings reports might influence the market sentiments on Friday.

Major corporates such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo reported their earnings on the day.

Early cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly up.

As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 68.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 2.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 13.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished mixed on Wednesday. The Dow spiked 827.87UNH points or 2.8 percent to 30,038.72.

The Nasdaq gained 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.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department's Retail Sales for September will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the previous month.

The Labor Department's Import and Export Prices for September is scheduled at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for negative 1.0 percent, while it was negative 1.0 percent in August.

Business Inventories for August will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.9 percent, while it was up 0.6 percent in July.

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiments for October will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 58.8, while it was up 58.6 in the previous month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is expected at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the North America rig count was 977, and the U.S. rig count was 762.

In the corporate sector, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) reported a 17 percent reduction in third-quarter earnings to $9.737 billion from $11.68 billion in the prior year. On a per-share basis, earnings declined to $3.12 from $3.74 a year ago.

The company noted that the current quarter included net investment securities losses of $959 million or $0.24 per share resulting in a decrease of $729 million in earnings.

On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $2.88 per share. Analysts estimates usually exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased 10 percent to $32.716 billion from $29.647 billion in the prior year. Wall Street was looking for revenue of $32.09 billion.

United Health Group (UNH) reported an increase in third-quarter earnings to $5.38 million from $4.19 million last year. On a per-share basis, earnings were $5.55, up from $4.28 in the prior year. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $5.79 per share. Analysts were looking for $5.42 per share.

Revenue for the third quarter increased 11.8 percent to $80.9 billion, from $72.3 billion in the previous month.

Asian stocks gained on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index rose at the close. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.21 percent to 16,587.69. The Dow spiked 827.87 points or 2.8 percent to 30,038.72.

The Nasdaq 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.

Japanese markets finished higher. The Nikkei average jumped 3.25 percent to 27,090.76 while the broader Topix index ended 2.35 percent higher at 1,898.19.

Australian markets closed sharply higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.75 percent to settle at 6,758.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended 1.67 percent higher at 6,948.60.

European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is adding 55.56 points or 0.95 percent. The German DAX is progressing 78.05 points or 0.63 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is climbing 55.69 points or 0.81 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 95.15 points or 0.93 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 1.11 percent.