Futures tracking Wall Street indexes inched up on Friday

Good morning.

Futures tracking Wall Street indexes inched up on Friday after concerns over interest rates battered stocks in the prior session, while investors kept a watch on data and comments from policymakers to assess the central bank’s next steps. Worries over another interest rate hike in 2023 and prospects of a delay in the easing of monetary policy knocked down the three main indexes by more than 1% each on Thursday.

Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday the central bank might need to raise interest rates further and maintain them at elevated levels to mitigate the potential risk of a reacceleration of inflation. A slew of Fed policymakers, including Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari and board Governor Lisa Cook – who are both voting members – are set to speak at various events during the day.

Economic data on Thursday showed the U.S. Philly Fed business outlook survey came in at -13.5 in September, weaker than expectations of -0.7. In addition, the number of Americans filing for jobless claims the past week unexpectedly fell -20K to a 7-1/2 month low of 201K, stronger than expectations of 225K, suggesting continued resilience in the labor market.

Today, all eyes are focused on the U.S. S&P Global Manufacturing PMI preliminary reading. Economists, on average, forecast that the September Manufacturing PMI will stand at 48.0, compared to the previous value of 47.9.

The Detroit Three automakers are also in focus as they enter the final hours to reach new labor agreements with the union before the current strike expands to more plants.

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index moved to the “Fear” zone on Thursday.

WTI crude futures rose above $90 per barrel. Gold weakened below $1,930 an ounce while the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note surged by nearly 13 basis points, almost touching 4.5%.

Have a great weekend.