Stock Market Today: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Gain While Dow Slips Amid Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Extension—
(Editor’s note: The futures and ETFs data and headline were updated.)
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Friday following Thursday’s decline, after President Donald Trump announced the extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon by three weeks.
Meanwhile, peace talks between Iran and the United States could resume soon in Pakistan, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi expected to arrive on Friday night, Reuters reported, citing three Pakistani sources.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones index closed 179 points lower as investors gauged the evolving Middle East conflict and a downturn in the software sector.
The 10-year Treasury bond yields stood at 4.316%, and the two-year bond was at 3.831% at the time of writing. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in April.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.07% |
| S&P 500 | 0.42% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 1.30% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.16% |
Stocks In Focus
Intel
SAP SE
Lunai Bioworks
Procter & Gamble
FreeCast
Cues From Last Session
The utilities, industrials and consumer staples sectors recorded the biggest surge on Thursday. Information Technology, consumer discretionary and financials recorded the biggest decline.
Insights From Analysts
Analysts at Schwab noted that geopolitics and oil remain the market’s swing factors currently. Even though oil at $100 per barrel has not hurt equities so far, the firm notes that these elevated prices keep inflation sensitivity high.
The firm added that this could quickly cause a rise in rates and risk premiums if the price rises from current levels near $96 per barrel.
The next week will be big on economic data and the release of the latest earnings reports from five of the seven Magnificent Seven companies.
Upcoming Economic Data
- On Friday, the University of Michigan’s final Consumer Sentiment Index reading for April will be released at 10 a.m. ET.
- The New York Fed Staff Nowcast is also due Friday.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.36% to hover around $97.15 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar declined 0.15% to hover around $4,687.14 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.02% lower at the 98.7490 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.07% lower at $77,822.62 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed mixed on Friday. India’s Nifty 50 and Australia’s ASX 200 indices closed lower, while South Korea’s Kospi, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices surged. European markets were mostly lower in early trade.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
