Wall Street Poised To Open Broadly Lower

(RTTNews) - Personal Income and Outlays for December, Consumer Sentiment for January as well as Consumer Sentiment for January are the major economic announcements on Friday.

Intel, and Visa will be announcing quarterly results after the bell today.

The latest reports showed that the U.S. economy gained 2.9 percent annually.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly lower.

Asian shares finished broadly up, while European shares are trading positive.

As of 7.10 am ET, the Dow futures were up 20.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 7.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 40.00 points.

The U.S. major averages ended Thursday's session higher. The Nasdaq surged 199.06 points or 1.8 percent to 11,512.41, the S&P 500 shot up 44.21 points or 1.1 percent to 4,060.43 and the Dow climbed 205.57 points or 0.6 percent to 33,949.41.

On the economic front, Personal Income and Outlays for December will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is up 0.2 percent, while it was up 0.4 percent in the prior month. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment for January will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 64.6, while it was up 64.6 in December.

National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index for December will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 1.0 percent, while it was down 4.0 percent in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is scheduled to announce at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 1,012 and the U.S. rig count was 771.

Asian markets gained further on Friday. Markets in China remain closed for a holiday.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 added 20 points or 0.07 percent to end trading at 27,382.56.

The Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange added 122 points or 0.54 percent from the previous close to finish trading at 22,688.90.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 closed trading at 7,493.80.

New Zealand's NZX 50 gained 13 points or 0.10 percent to close at 12,036.05.

European shares are trading up. CAC 40 of France is gaining 8.25 points or 0.12 percent. DAX of Germany is adding 22.86 points or 0.15 percent. FTSE 100 of England is progressing 11.12 points or 0.14 percent. The Swiss Market Index is up 3.54 points or 0.03 percent.

Euro Stoxx 50 which provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is up 0.18 percent.