(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted six straight sessions of gains, as a string of encouraging economic data fueled a broad rally led by technology and growth stocks.
The benchmark index recovered from a decline earlier this month driven by a disappointing U.S. jobs report and the yen’s carry trade, as better-than-expected data calmed nerves over a sharp slowdown in the world’s largest economy.
U.S. consumer and producer price data this week indicated that inflation was moderating to a pace that would allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue its monetary easing cycle with a 25 basis point rate cut next month rather than a more aggressive move.
The US central bank is now expected to monitor labor market trends more closely.
Market participants will be looking to the minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s outlook for the U.S. economy at the Jackson Hole Symposium, an annual gathering of global central bankers, next week for further clues on the rate-cutting path.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, the Dow E-minis were up 46 points, or 0.11%, the S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.11% at 5,573.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 47.5 points, or 0.24%.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were headed for their best weeks since October, while the Dow was on track for its best weekly performance since December.
Later today, the University of Michigan will release its August consumer sentiment survey around 10 a.m. ET (2 p.m. GMT).
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee’s remarks will also be watched a day after two other Fed officials – St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic – spoke out Thursday in favor of cutting interest rates in September.
Applied Materials Inc. fell 2.8% in premarket trading after rallying ahead of its earnings release. The chip-making equipment company forecast fourth-quarter revenue that slightly beat Wall Street estimates.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies gained, with bitcoin up 3%. Miners Riot Platforms Inc and Marathon Digital gained 2.3% and 1.8%, respectively, while the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF added 2.4%.
Overall, U.S. stock trading volume has been below its 20-day moving average over the past six sessions as many investors are away for summer vacation.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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