Futures Bounce Back Near Unchanged Line After Overnight Weakness

(RTTNews) - Following the downturn seen over the course of the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by less than a tenth of a percent.

The futures had been pointing to further downside earlier this morning but have climbed back near the unchanged line amid uncertainty about the bank credit concerns that emerged during Thursday's session.

Shares of Jefferies (JEF) are jumping by 4 percent in pre-market trading after Oppenheimer upgrade its rating on the investment bank to Outperform from Perform.

While Jefferies had plunged more than 10 percent on Thursday amid concerns about its exposure to bankrupt auto parts company First Brands, Oppenheimer said its exposure is "very limited."

The recovery attempt by the futures comes as shares of banks like Fifth Third (FITB), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) and Truist Financial (TFC) have jumped after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Credit card giant American Express (AXP) is also seeing pre-market strength after reporting third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raising its full-year guidance.

However, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued amid another quiet day on the U.S. economic front due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves as they keep an eye on the latest developments regarding the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

In an interview with Fox Business this morning, President Donald Trump said the high tariffs he has threatened on Chinese imports are "probably not [sustainable]" but argued "they forced me to do that."

Stocks showed a strong move to the upside early in the session on Thursday but came under pressure over the course of the trading day. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session and into negative territory.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but remained in the red. The Dow slid 301.07 points or 0.7 percent to 45952.24, the S&P 500 declined 41.99 points or 0.6 percent to 6,629.07 and the Nasdaq fell 107.54 points or 0.5 percent to 22,562.54.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index plunged by 2.0 percent.

Most European stocks have also moved to the downside. The German DAX Index is down by 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.0 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index is nearly unchanged.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.10 to $57.56 a barrel after slumping $0.81 to $57.46 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after soaring $103 to $4,304.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $2.30 to $4,302.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.50 yen versus the 150.41 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1668 compared to yesterday's $1.1687.