U.S. stock index futures nudged higher Friday after what’s been called one of the craziest market days in history.
What’s happening
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.09%
rose 0.5%, or 149 points, to 30239 - Futures on the S&P 500
ES00,
-0.03%
gained 0.4%, or 13 points, to 3694 - Futures on the Nasdaq 100
NQ00,
-0.23%
increased 0.2%, or 17 points, to 11100
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+2.83%
rose 828 points, or 2.83%, to 30039, the S&P 500
SPX,
+2.60%
increased 93 points, or 2.6%, to 3670, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 232 points, or 2.23%, to 10649.
The Dow’s 2.8% rise was the largest one-day gain since Nov. 9, 2020.
What’s driving markets
Rick Rieder, the chief investment officer for fixed income at BlackRock, called Thursday’s gyrations one of the “craziest” in history, coming after data showing U.S. September inflation running at a hotter-than-expected pace. The S&P 500 had fallen for five consecutive sessions ahead of the CPI report.
“This snapback seems like the product of protective hedges being unloaded in the options market, which generated enough upside momentum to trigger a broader wave of short-covering,” said Marios Hadjikriacos, senior investment analyst at XM.
BlackRock’s Rieder advised investors to consider parking their money in short-term bonds, a point recently echoed by hedge-fund legend Ray Dalio.
The U.S. third quarter corporate earnings reporting season kicks off with a barrage of results from the banking sector, with JPMorgan Chase
JPM,
+5.56%,
Wells Fargo
WFC,
+4.62%,
Morgan Stanley
MS,
+3.55%
and Citigroup
C,
+5.17%
each scheduled to release results. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo each initially rose after releasing third-quarter numbers.
Friday will also see the release of September retail sales, and the October release of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment report, due for release. Fed Gov. Lisa Cook also is scheduled due to speak.
