The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.
Optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.
A Bloomberg report citing people familiar said the U.S. is hoping to slash its China tariffs to below 60 percent from the current level of at least 145 percent during the weekend talks.
President Donald Trump suggested in a post on Truth Social that he supports lower tariffs on China but said a higher "80% Tariff on China seems right," partly offsetting the positive sentiment.
Amid a lack of major U.S. economic news, any further developments on the trade front could impact trading as the day progresses.
After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks turned in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before giving back some ground going into the close.
The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session but still finished the session firmly in positive territory.
The Nasdaq jumped 189.98 points or 1.1 percent to 17,928.14, the Dow advanced 254.48 points or 0.6 percent to 41,368.45 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.66 points or 0.6 percent at 5,663.94.
The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump unveiled the framework of a trade agreement with the U.K.
While noting the final details are still "being written up," Trump claimed the deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, and will see the U.K. reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers.
Even with the deal, the 10 percent tariff Trump imposed on most countries in early April will remain in place for imports from the U.K.
The announcement helped further ease uncertainty about trade following Wednesday's news that Bessent will meet with China's lead representative on economic matters during a trip to Switzerland.
"While trade with the UK pales in comparison to trade with our neighbors to the North and South, and especially in comparison to China, it is an important test case and a model for what could be accomplished," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
He added, "If the administration can follow this up with additional agreements, it would go a long way toward healing a stock market that has been battered and bruised this year."
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended May 3rd.
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing a pullback by U.S. labor productivity in the first quarter of 2025 along with a sharp increase by unit labor costs.
Airline stocks turned in some of the market's best performances, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4.2 percent to its best closing level in over a month.
A sharp increase by the price of crude also contributed to substantial strength among energy stocks, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index up by 2.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Financial, computer hardware, housing and software stocks also saw considerable strength, while gold and pharmaceutical stocks showed significant moves to the downside.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are jumping $1.31 to $61.22 a barrel after surging $1.84 to $59.91 barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plunging $85.90 to $3,306 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $32.30 to $3,338.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.26 yen versus the 145.91 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1251 compared to yesterday's $1.1228.
Asia
Asian shares ended mostly higher on Friday as investors parsed China's April trade data and looked ahead to crucial Sino-U.S. talks scheduled for this weekend.
Underlying sentiment was supported by a breakthrough in the U.S.-U.K. trade deal announced on Thursday and reports the Trump administration is weighing plans to lower Chinese tariffs to as low as 50 percent.
Treasuries were little changed after yields surged in the previous session. The dollar eyed a weekly rise as the U.S. trade deal with Britain fueled guarded optimism for progress in tariff talks with other countries.
Gold recovered some ground after two days of sharp losses. Crude prices extended gains after rising around 3 percent on Thursday on hopes for a breakthrough in upcoming talks between the United States and China, the world's two largest oil consumers.
China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.3 percent to 3,342 despite upbeat trade data, with April exports rising 8.1 percent in dollar terms compared with a year earlier and imports shrinking 0.2 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.4percent to 22,867.74 after Trump said he believed there will be tangible progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks.
Japanese markets led regional gains to hit over one-month highs on optimism around ongoing trade talks with the U.S. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.6 percent to 37,503.33, while the broader Topix Index settled 1.3 percent higher at 2,733.49. Automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan climbed 2-3 percent.
Seoul stocks fluctuated before ending on a flat note. The Kospi finished marginally lower at 2,577.27, snapping its three-day winning streak as battery and bank stocks succumbed to profit taking.
Australian markets eked out modest gains, led by banks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.5 percent to 8,231.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.5 percent higher at 8,462.60.
Investment bank Macquarie rallied 3.8 percent after reporting an increase in annual profit due to a well-timed asset sale. Lender Westpac added 2.3 percent, recovering some ground after suffering heavy losses earlier this week.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index jumped 1.1 percent to 12,605.07.
Europe
European stocks are mostly higher on Friday as investors look ahead to discussions between the U.S. and China scheduled for this weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the meetings with China on trade and economic issues could be "very substantive" and lead to tariff reductions.
Elsewhere, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that dozens of trade deals will be rolled out over the next month, but a 10 percent tariff imposed on most countries will likely stay.
Meanwhile, a day after the U.K. announced a historic deal with the U.S., BoE Governor Andrew Bailey told the BBC that Britain needs to rebuild its trading relationship with the European Union.
The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.
British Airways owner IAG has moved sharply higher after announcing it has ordered up to 76 new Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
Norwegian industrial investment firm Aker ASA also jumped after saying NAV rose to NOK 61.9 billion as of March 31 from NOK 58.2 billion at the end of 2024.
German lender Commerzbank has also shown a notable move to the upside after reporting its record quarterly earnings.
Packaging manufacturer Krones AG rose has also surged after reporting a 15 percent jump in first quarter profits.
Swiss hearing aids maker Sonova has also spiked after it forecast higher sales and profitability for its 2025/26 fiscal year.
U.S. Economic News
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is scheduled to deliver welcome and opening remarks before a "Fed Listens: Perspectives from the Midwest" event at 10 am ET.
At 11:30 am ET, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to speak on "Taylor Rules in Policy" at the Hoover Monetary Policy Conference.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller is also scheduled to speak on "Monetary Policy Research" at the Hoover Monetary Policy Conference.
At 7:45 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack and St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem are due to participate in a monetary policy panel before the Hoover Monetary Policy Conference.
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May 23, 2025 13:17 ET Housing sales data was among the news out of the U.S. economy in a relatively slow week for economic news. In Europe, preliminary results from the purchasing managers’ survey threw light on the trends in the private sector economy. The U.K. inflation print also turned heads as it came above expectations. In main news in the Asia-Pacific, central banks of Australia and China announced their latest policy moves.