Stocks May Move Modestly Higher In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the upside at the start of trading on Friday, extending the recovery from yesterday's early sell-off. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open, with the Dow futures up by 17 points.

Bargain hunting may contribute to any early strength on Wall Street, as traders look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the pullback seen earlier this week.

Traders are also digesting earnings news from Wells Fargo (WFC), the first major U.S. bank to report its quarterly results this earnings season.

Wells Fargo reported second quarter earnings that rose to $1.01 per share from $0.98 per share in the year-ago quarter, matching analyst estimates.

The financial giant also said total revenue for the quarter dipped to $21.07 billion from $21.38 billion but exceeded estimates for $20.82 billion.

Nonetheless, trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to next week, when earnings season will really start to pick up steam.

Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Intel (INTC), Bank of America (BAC), IBM (IBM), Morgan Stanley (MS), and General Electric (GE) are among the slew of big-name companies due to report their quarterly results next week.

Lingering concerns about the financial stability of troubled Portuguese lender Banco Espirito Santo may also limit any early upside for the markets.

Among individual stocks, shares of Infosys (INFY) are moving higher in pre-market trading after the IT services provider reported first quarter profits and sales that exceeded analyst estimates.

Cigarette maker Lorillard (LO) may also see early strength after confirming that it is in talks regarding a potential acquisition by Reynolds American (RAI).

On the other hand, shares of Gap (GPS) may move to the downside after the apparel retailer reported an unexpected drop in comparable-store sales in June.

After showing a substantial move to the downside at the start of trading on Thursday, stocks regained some ground over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remained stuck in negative territory.

With the losses on the day, the major averages largely offset Wednesday's gains. The Dow fell 70.54 points or 0.4 percent to 16,915.07, the Nasdaq slid 22.83 points or 0.5 percent to 4,396.20 and the S&P 500 dropped 8.15 points or 0.4 percent to 1,964.68.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has risen by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.49 to $102.44 a barrel after climbing $0.64 to $102.93 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures are slipping $1.90 to $1,337.30 an ounce. In the previous session, gold rose $14.90 to $1,339.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 101.32 yen compared to the 101.34 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3599 compared to yesterday's $1.3609.