Futures higher on trade deal optimism; jobs data in focus

Futures higher on trade deal optimism; jobs data in focus

By Shreyashi Sanyal

 

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a fourth day of gains for Wall Street on Friday, fueled by hopes that the United States and China were starting to work toward a resolution of their bitter trade war that has weighed on expectations of global growth, and ahead of the closely watched monthly jobs report.

 

The S&P 500 futures and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures <1YMc1> pointed to a near 1 percent rise for the indexes at open, but gains in Nasdaq futures were limited by losses in shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).

 

Apple fell 5.6 percent in premarket trading, after the world's most valuable technology company warned that sales for the crucial holiday quarter would likely miss expectations, blaming weakness in emerging markets and foreign exchange costs.

 

But markets got a lift from the latest development on the trade front, as President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed optimism about resolving the trade dispute ahead of a high-stakes meeting at the end of November in Argentina.

 

The positive signals also triggered a global surge in risk appetite.