By Barbara Kollmeyer and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks looked set to open big on
Friday. However, the early morning surge in stock futures, which
implied hefty Halloween gains were in store, pulled back somewhat
on the release of weaker-than-expected economic data.
Global stocks were boosted by the Bank of Japan's surprise
increase in its stimulus, with the Nikkei 225 index soaring nearly
5%. The BOJ board voted 5-4 in favor of increasing the central
bank's annual asset purchases to 80 trillion yen, from a prior
target range of Yen60 trillion to Yen70 trillion, amid worries
about dwindling inflation and downbeat economic data.
Over in the U.S., reports on consumer spending and labor costs
were slightly disappointing. Consumer spending in the U.S. fell in
September for the first time in eight months, while employment
costs rose for the second straight quarter to mark the biggest
back-to-back gain since 2008.
Futures for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) surged 20.80 points, or
1%, to 2,009.40, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJZ4) climbed 171 points, or 1%, to 17,285. Futures for the
Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) jumped 61 points, or 1.5%, to 4,150.50.
"The U.S. sends 4.5% of it exports to Japan, and so any action
that can: (a) ward off the threat of deflation and the crippling
effect that has on consumer expenditure; (b) give a boost to the
Japanese economy, which is the world's third largest, has to be
seen as a strong positive for future earnings potential," said
Stephen Pope, managing partner at Spotlight Ideas.
On Thursday, upbeat economic data and earnings pushed U.S.
stocks higher. The Dow industrials (DJI) vaulted 200 points higher,
setting it to end the week over 2% higher. The S&P 500 index
(SPX) is set to end the week 1.5% higher, a gain of just over 1%
for the month.
The Dow hit an intraday high of 17,223.96 on Thursday, which was
the highest since September 24, 2014, but looks set to exceed that
on the open.
More data at month's end: There's a batch of data on Friday as
the trading month ends. Consumer sentiment for October is due at
9:55 a.m. Eastern Time, with economists expecting that data to
remain unchanged at 86.4 and remain near a 2014 high. Just ahead of
that data, the Chicago purchasing managers index for October will
be released.
Stocks to watch: Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) stock rose 2% after the
company reported third-quarter earnings.
Chevron Corp. (CVX) Chevron's stock CVX, +0.05% rose 1.8% in
premarket trade Friday, after the oil giant reported a
third-quarter profit that rose well above expectations, offsetting
a bigger-than-expected decline in sales.
AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) said sales and profit beat analyst forecasts.
The stock soared 4.2%.
Madison Square Garden Co. (MSGNV) said fiscal first quarter
revenue far surpassed analyst estimates. The company is currently
considering splitting itself in two. Shares rose 3.2%.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) lifted its full-year outlook
Friday as it reported third-quarter earnings of 19 cents a
share.
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) is down over 3% after its first-quarter
outlook fell below forecasts. GoPro Inc. (GPRO) is up 17% in
premarket after results topped Wall Street estimates, while
LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) was up 5% after the company's sales outlook
was a bit weaker than expected, but results also came in slightly
better than forecast.
As markets surged in pre-open, shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose
1.1% in premarket, on course to open at a record intraday high.
Gold sinks as dollar soars: Gold prices (GCZ4) were trading at
levels not seen since 2010, dropping nearly $25 to $1,174.30, with
the dollar (USDJPY) trading around Yen111.71. Oil (CLZ4) also
pulled back. Asian markets were higher, with the Nikkei closing at
its highest level in nearly seven years, on the back of the
Japanese stimulus. European stocks rallied along with global
stocks.
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