By Corrie Driebusch
U.S. stock futures rose on Friday, putting the market on track
to bounce back from the previous session's steep declines.
S&P 500 futures rose 7.7 points, or 0.4%, to 2086.60. E-Mini
Dow futures climbed 84 points, or 0.5%, to 17843, and e-mini
Nasdaq-100 futures gained 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4421.
In Europe, U.K. stocks edged up in light trading, with the FTSE
100 adding 0.2%. Most European stock markets were closed Friday in
observance of the May Day holiday.
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, led by shares of companies
that had previously performed well, such as biotechnology and
small-capitalization companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
lost 195.01 points, or 1.1%, to 17840.52. The S&P 500 dropped
21.34 points, or 1%, to 2085.51, and the Nasdaq Composite Index
lost 82.22 points, or 1.6%, to 4941.42. The small-cap benchmark
Russell 2000 index declined 2.2%.
So far this year, U.S. stocks performance has been choppy. But
even as stocks have seen daily swings, the market has remained
range-bound. Through Thursday's close, the Dow is roughly flat for
the year, and the S&P 500 is up 1.3%.
"The last four months have been quite a roller coaster," said
Richard Yoken, founder of the Portfolio Strategy Group, a White
Plains, N.Y.-based wealth management firm that manages roughly $1.3
billion, referring to the ups and downs of the stock market. If
clients call to ask about a 150-point move in the market, Mr. Yoken
said he would tell them not to worry, since the Dow would probably
be back up 150 points the next day.
He said first-quarter earnings so far have been as he
anticipated. The wild card for investors, he said, is when the
Federal Reserve will start to raise short-term rates, but even that
shouldn't cause big stock swings. "This is the most telegraphed
potential increase the Federal Reserve has ever had," he said.
"With regard to how the market will react, it should be priced in
already."
On Wednesday, a statement from the Federal Reserve signaled that
interest-rate increases are still possible in the coming months,
though it gave few new clues about the specific timing for an
increase. Following the financial crisis, the Fed cut its benchmark
interest rate to virtually zero to jump-start the economy. After
more than six years, the Fed is widely expected to raise short-term
rates later this year.
In earnings news, LinkedIn Corp.'s shares tumbled 20% premarket
after the professional social network sharply lowered its forecast
for the year, citing a stronger dollar and weaker demand for
traditional advertising.
Shares of Visa Inc. declined 1.6% premarket after the payments
network said profit was flat even as revenue rose, citing pressure
from a strong dollar and lower gas prices.
Gilead Sciences Inc.'s profit soared thanks to sales of its two
key hepatitis C drugs. For the year, the company also raised its
guidance for net product sales by $2 billion. Shares rose 2.5%
premarket.
In commodity markets, gold futures declined 0.2% to $1179.70 an
ounce. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.2% to $59.52 a barrel.
Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com
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