(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday, with a decline in Treasury yields offering some relief to equities despite a drop in Tesla, although all three major indexes looked poised for a weekly loss.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield eased, after rising as high as 4.26% earlier in the week, and was trading around 4.19%.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares dipped 1.8% in premarket trading after a nearly 22% surge in the previous session, as investors cheered the EV-maker’s strong sales forecast.
Gains in the stock had lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on Thursday, the S&P 500’s first daily advance of the week.
All three major indexes are set to snap their six-week winning streaks, with equities unsettled by a fairly rapid rise in rates as investors bet a stronger economic outlook could limit the scope of future interest-rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 82 points, or 0.19%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 13.75 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 56.25 points, or 0.28%.
Shares of Apple dipped 0.8% after data showed iPhone sales in China fell in the third quarter, while Capri Holdings slumped 46.4% after a U.S. judge blocked a pending merger between the company and handbag maker Tapestry.
Shares of memory-chip-maker Western Digital leapt 12% after it topped quarterly profit estimates on Thursday.
A mixed set of earnings across sectors and continued uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election have also made investors cautious in the week.
The week starting Oct. 28 promises to be a crucial one for Wall Street, with earnings from megacaps including Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft, as well as nonfarm payrolls data and the final stretch just before the Nov. 5 election.
Markets have started pricing in a second Donald Trump administration in recent weeks, despite worries of a possibly contested result and whether one party will control Congress following the election.
Earnings from New York Community Bancorp and Colgate-Palmolive are due before the bell.
On the economic front, September Durable goods data and the University of Michigan’s final Consumer Sentiment index are on deck, while the Boston Fed’s Susan Collins is scheduled to speak on the day. [FED/DIARY]
Investors are still pricing in another 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s November meeting. They expect about two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
