U.S. stock futures edged higher before the close, as Wall Street appeared poised to end a volatile week on a positive note. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.2%, while those tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) gained 0.3%. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) added 0.1%.
Markets are nearing the end of the most volatile week of the 2024 campaign. Monday saw the worst rout of the year, and Wall Street’s “fear gauge” – the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) – hit its highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
On Thursday, a reassuring look at the labor market—in the form of the normally routine weekly jobless claims report—gave investors reason to buy. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose more than 2%, with the S&P posting its best day since late 2022—a remarkable feat given the magnitude of the overall rally in 2024.
Ultimately, with a modest rebound Friday, the major indices could end the week close to where they began it. After Thursday’s session, the benchmark S&P 500 was down about 0.5% from last Friday’s close. All the more reason, as many strategists told Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman in the Morning Brief newsletter, to remain calm amid the chaos.
Friday is a quiet day, with no major economic releases or earnings on the agenda. Among individual stocks, Nvidia (NVDA) will be in focus again after its wild swings this week. Its stock edged higher in premarket trading. Meanwhile, Paramount (PARA) stock jumped more than 5% after reporting its first-ever streaming profit and announcing that it plans layoffs in the coming year.
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