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

(RTTNews) - Following the moderate pullback seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 22 points.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to the latest earnings news, with some big-name industrial companies reporting their quarterly results.

Industrial conglomerates General Electric (GE) and Honeywell (HON) both reported second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates, and Honeywell raised the low end of its full-year guidance.

Additionally, shares of Whirlpool (WHR) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the appliance maker reported better than expected second quarter results and boosted its full-year forecast.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as some traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.

Traders may also stick to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting scheduled for next week.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged as officials wait to see the fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Nonetheless, the central bank's accompanying statement is likely to be in focus, as investors attempt to gauge the outlook for the next rate hike.

After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks moved to the downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the pullback on the day, the Dow closed lower for the first time in ten sessions.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Dow fell 77.80 points or 0.4 percent to 18,517.23, the Nasdaq dipped 16.03 points or 0.3 percent to 5,073.90 and the S&P 500 slid 7.85 points or 0.4 percent to 2,165.17.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.10 to $44.85 a barrel after sliding $1 to $44.75 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures are currently trading at $1.323.10 an ounce, down $7.90 from the previous session's close of $1,331 an ounce. On Thursday, gold climbed $11.70. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 106.15 yen compared to the 105.82 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1016 compared to yesterday's $1.1026.