Bargain Hunting May Lead To Early Strength On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After trending lower over the past few sessions, stocks are likely to regain some ground in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 22 points.

Bargain hunting may contribute to some early strength on Wall Street, as some traders are likely to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the recent pullback.

With worries about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program weighing on the markets, the Dow and the S&P 500 both ended Thursday's trading at their worst closing levels in a month.

Buying interest is likely to be somewhat subdued, however, as news that the House voted to approve a bipartisan budget bill to keep the U.S. government operating for the next two fiscal years may add to recent worries about the Fed.

The House voted 332 to 94 in favor of the bill, which was outlined Tuesday by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash.

The budget plan erases the threat of another government shutdown in January and also addresses some of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.

Meanwhile, traders are likely to shrug off a report from the Labor Department showing a modest decrease in producer prices in the month of November.

The Labor Department said its producer price index edged down by 0.1 percent in November following a 0.2 percent drop in October. The modest decrease matched economist estimates.

Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, inched up by 0.1 percent in November after rising by 0.2 percent in October. The uptick in core prices also matched expectations.

Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, adding to the steep losses posted on Wednesday. Worries about the Federal Reserve scaling back its stimulus program in the near future continued to weigh on the markets.

The major averages all ended the day in the red, although the Nasdaq posted a relatively modest loss. The Nasdaq edged down 5.41 points or 0.1 percent to 3,998.40, while the Dow fell 104.10 points or 0.7 percent to 15,739.43 and the S&P 500 slid 6.72 points or 0.4 percent to 1,775.50.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 2225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.74 to $96.76 a barrel after edging up $0.06 to $97.50 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures are rising $6 to $1,230.90 an ounce. In the previous session, gold tumbled $32.30 to $1,224.90 an ounce.

Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 103.26 yen compared to the 103.38 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3734 compared to yesterday's $1.3753.