Shutterstock photo (RTTNews.com) - Early trading in future market suggests a higher opening for Wall Street, with positive cues and improvement in oil prices. President Trumps positive attitude towards China and Japanese President Shinzo Abe's first officialsummit with Trump has supported a growth across Asian shares. Though it is a very quiet day on the economic front, import and export report will be keenly watched by the market. Asian shares closed higher, while European shares are trading mixed.
As of 7 am ET, the Dow futures are climbing 21 points, the S&P 500 futures are progressing 1.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 5.00 points.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday. The major averages closed firmly in positive territory but off their best levels of the day. The Dow advanced 118.06 points or 0.6 percent to 20,172.40, the Nasdaq climbed 32.73 points or 0.6 percent to 5,715.18 and the S&P 500 rose 13.20 points or 0.6 percent to 2,307.87.
The University of Michigan'sConsumer Survey Center's Consumer Sentiment for February will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 98.5, unchanged from the prior month.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count that tracks weekly changes in the number of active operating oil and gas rigs will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the previous week, North American rig count was 1072, while U.S. rig count was 729.
The U.S. Treasury is expected to release budget for January at 2.00 pm ET. In the previous week the budget recorded a deficit of 27.5 billion.
Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Stanley Fischer will speak at Warwick Economics Summit on February 11 in Coventry, United Kingdom, with audience Q&A at 7.30 am ET.
In the corporate segment, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. ( MJN ) said it reached an agreement to be acquired by Reckitt Benckiser Group plc for $90 cash for each share of Mead's common stock. The deal is valued at around $17.9 billion, including debt. The offered price represents a premium of 29 percent to closing on February 1.
Noble Corp. Plc ( NE ) announced a wider net loss of $1.302 billion for the fourth quarter from $152.24 million last year. On a per share basis, loss was $5.36, compared to loss of $0.63 a year ago. Revenue for the quarter almost halved to $410.15 million from $857.68 million in the previous year. The company has recorded an impairment loss of $1.795 billion for the quarter compared to $907.16 million a year ago.
THC BioMed Intl Ltd. ( THC ) said it has entered into an agreement to purchase Clone Shipper LLC for $1 million.
Asian stocks advanced Friday, led by a rally in Japanese shares after U.S. President Donald Trump promised a "phenomenal" tax plan to lower the burden on American businesses.
China'sShanghai composite rose 13.52 points or 0.42 percent to 3,196.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 49.84 points or 0.21 percent at 23,574.
Japanese shares rallied as the yen weakened against the dollar ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's meeting with Trump. The Nikkei average surged 471.26 points or 2.49 percent to 19,378.93 while the broader Topix index closed 2.18 percent higher at 1,546.56.
Australian shares rose for a fourth straight session,. In its quarterly statement on monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed its economic growth forecasts but flagged a possible return to above-trend growth by the end of 2017.
Australian share climbed. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 56 points or 0.99 percent to 5,720.60, taking this week's gains to 1.76 percent, its biggest gain in nine weeks. The broader All Ordinaries index closed 53.90 points or 0.94 percent higher at 5,771.60.
European shares are trading mixed. France's CAC 40 is currently down 3.34 points or 0.07 percent. Germany's DAX is climbing 23.80 points or 0.20 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 24.53 points or 0.34 percent. Swiss Market Index is slipping 17.83 points or 0.21 percent.
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