Stock Market Today: Wall Street Set To Extend Rally As Trump Says Iran War Should End ‘Pretty Soon’— Netf

U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday, as investors built on recent optimism that tensions in the Middle East may be easing.

President Donald Trump said the Iran war “should be ending pretty soon,” describing developments as “going along swimmingly” during remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The comments followed the announcement of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Recent optimism around a potential peace deal has lifted equities, putting all three major indexes on track for weekly gains. The Dow is up about 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced roughly 3.3% and 5.2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.305%, and the two-year bond was at 3.773%. 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 its April meeting.

Stocks In Focus

Netflix

Truist Financial

State Street Corp 

Microsoft

Cues From Last Session

Upcoming Economic Data

There is no economic data scheduled for Friday.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

WTI Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by about 3.3% to hover around $91.4 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude fell 2.6% to $96.7 per barrel at last check.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose held steady at around $4,795.34 per ounce at last check. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was down 0.12% at the 98.09 level.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was last exchanging hands at a 1.22% higher price of $75,721.23, as per the last 24 hours.

Asian markets mostly fell on Friday in stark contrast to Wall Street’s record rally, on cautious optimism over the Middle East conflict. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, South Korea’s Kospi, Mainland China’s CSI 300, and Australia’s ASX 200 fell. However, India’s NIFTY 50 ticked higher. European markets were mostly in the green.

Image via Shutterstock