By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were little changed during early APAC deals on Friday, after major benchmark indices closed higher during Thursday’s session, with stronger-than-expected earnings pushing the S&P 500 to its best daily performance since March.
During regular trade, the Dow gained 534.75 points or 1.56% to 34912.57, snapping four sessions of consecutive losses. The S&P 500 added 74.46 points or 1.71% to 4438.25, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 251.79 points or 1.73% to 14823.43, posting its best day since May.
Dow Jones futures gained 0.19%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.16%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.19%.
Among stocks, financial heavyweights Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) surged 4.47% after reporting, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) added 2.48% after reporting earnings. Citigroup (NYSE:C) also added 0.77% as earnings results came in above expectations. Later in the session, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) and PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) are also set to report quarterly results.
On the data front, initial jobless claims fell to 293K, below expectations of 319K, while PPI lifted 0.5% for the month and 8.6% over the year. Later in the session, retail sales and Michigan Consumer Sentiment readings will be closely monitored.