FX.co ★ US Stocks on Track for Strong Weekly Gain

On Friday, U.S. stock futures experienced a modest increase, with contracts linked to the three main indexes climbing approximately 0.3%. This upward movement positions them to finish the week with notable gains. The market outlook brightened as trade tensions showed signs of easing, following an agreement between the U.S. and China to temporarily scale back tariffs. Concurrently, a series of mostly weak economic indicators has bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will have the leeway to reduce interest rates at least twice this year. Both housing starts and building permits were below projections, while prices for exports and imports rose unexpectedly. Earlier in the week, inflation data—encompassing both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI)—did not meet expectations, and retail sales were lackluster. In premarket trading, large-cap technology stocks presented a mixed picture. Apple rose by 0.2%, Nvidia increased by 1.2%, Amazon was up by 0.4%, and Alphabet saw a gain of 2.3%. Meanwhile, Microsoft declined by 0.2% and Meta fell by 0.5%. For the week as a whole, the Dow Jones increased by 2.6%, the S&P 500 rose by 4.5%, and the Nasdaq surged over 6%.