U.S. Stocks Likely To See Further Upside In Early Trading

After ending the previous session modestly higher, stocks are likely to see further upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 181 points.

Additional buying interest may be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies.

Shares of Snap (SNAP) are soaring in pre-market trading after the Snapchat parent reported an unexpected second quarter profit on better than expected revenues.

Social media giant Twitter (TWTR) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat revenue guidance.

Shares of American Express (AXP) may also move to the upside after the financial services company reported second quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) are likely to see initial weakness after the semiconductor giant reported better than expected second quarter results but provided disappointing guidance.

The largely upbeat earnings are likely to contribute to early strength on Wall Street, although trading activity may wane as the day progresses.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over much of the trading day on Thursday before ending the session modestly higher. With the uptick on the day, the major averages extended the rebound seen on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory but off their highs of the session. The Dow inched up 25.35 points or 0.1 percent to 34,823.35, the Nasdaq rose 52.64 points or 0.4 percent to 14,684.60 and the S&P 500 edged up 8.79 points or 0.2 percent to 4,367.48.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved notably higher on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.19 to $71.72 a barrel after jumping $1.61 to $71.91 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after inching up $2 to $1,805.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $2.10 to $1,803.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 110.49 yen versus the 110.14 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1776 compared to yesterday’s $1.1771.

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