Stock futures rose early Friday morning after a remarkable day for the market indexes.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.39%, while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) climbed 0.42%, as of 6.18 a.m. EST, Friday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures advanced 0.63%.
Thursday’s Good News
On Thursday, China announced that it plans to take a step down in its Covid restrictions, buoying market sentiments. Many companies that depend on China for various aspects of business were concerned about how long they would have to continue being impacted by the restrictions.
Moreover, the remarkable reduction in October’s consumer price index (CPI) data gave investors another reason to rejoice. Headline inflation cooled to 7.7% year-over-year which was less than the Dow Jones estimate of 7.9%, providing a much-needed relief to investors. The CPI is a key piece of data tracked by the Federal Reserve to set the tone for its forthcoming policy path.
A relief rally in the equity market followed the updates, sending the U.S. Treasury yields southward. No wonder, tech stocks were the biggest gainers. The S&P 500, the Dow, and the Nasdaq 100 ended the day with gains of 5.54%, 3.7%, and 7.49%, respectively. The splendid gains set the indexes on the path to ending the week in the green.
Another encouraging update came from the National Association of Realtors, which revealed that U.S. home prices slowed sharply in the third quarter as a result of higher mortgage prices. The median price of a ready single-family home was up 8.6% year-over-year, down from the second quarter’s pace of 14.2%. This is a big decline, reflecting the effectiveness of the higher interest rates in controlling real estate prices.
Elections: Republicans on Track to Paint the House Red, Senate Still Uncertain
Meanwhile, on the election front, the Republicans are on the verge of winning over the House, although not by the “sweep” that they had expected. Seats at the Senate are still up in the air as Arizona and Nevada continue to count ballots and Georgia will head into a runoff on December 6.
In the meantime, President Biden is expected to attend the international climate talks in Egypt on Friday, which will focus on talks of geopolitical dynamics, among other things.
Read More: Stock Market Today: Futures Up as Inflation Cools And China to Ease Restrictions