Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - 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 down by less than a tenth of a percent.

Following the volatility seen over the past several sessions, traders may take a step back to assess the near-term outlook for the markets.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the unofficial start of earnings season next week.

Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), UnitedHealth (UNH) and Netflix (NFLX) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results.

"Investors will be looking for confirmation that AI-related investment continues to translate into robust earnings growth and resilient margins, particularly among the large technology companies that have driven much of this year's rally," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.

She added, "With valuations still elevated, earnings guidance could prove just as important as the headline results themselves."

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of key inflation reports next week.

After seeing considerable volatility early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all moved to the upside after Wednesday's mixed performance, with the Nasdaq leading the charge.

The Nasdaq ended the day just off its high of the session, jumping 336.24 points or 1.3 percent to 26,206.89. The S&P 500 also advanced 60.93 points or 0.8 percent to 7,543.64, while the narrower Dow rose 139.02 points or 0.3 percent to 52,487.41.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, while South Korea's Kospi surged by 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are little changed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both just above the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.07 to $72.15 a barrel after tumbling $1.44 to $72.08 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after surging $58.40 to $4,140.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $25.60 to $4,115.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 161.85 yen versus the 162.37 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1426 compared to yesterday's $1.1428.