Upbeat Data May Extend Upward Trend For The Markets

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a slightly higher opening on Friday on the heels of the release of an upbeat report on durable goods orders. Stocks may look to extend their recent upward trend, which has lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record highs.

Nonetheless, trading activity is likely to be subdued, as the U.S. stock markets are scheduled to close at 1 pm ET. The Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday is also likely to keep traders away from their desks.

Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, extending the strong upward move that was seen last week. The major averages all ended the day firmly positive, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts.

While the Nasdaq jumped 44.16 points or 1.1 percent to 4,148.90, the Dow rose 73.47 points or 0.5 percent to 16,294.61 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.67 points or 0.5 percent to 1,827.99.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected continued optimism about the outlook for the U.S. economy following upbeat remarks by the head of the International Monetary Fund.

The Commerce Department also released a report before the start of trading showing that U.S. personal spending increased in line with economist estimates in the month of November.

Additionally, the tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from a notable advance by shares of Apple (AAPL), which rallied after the tech giant reached a multi-year deal with China Mobile to sell the iPhone in China.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.23 to $99.14 a barrel after sliding $0.41 to $98.91 a barrel in the previous session. An ounce of gold is trading at $1,200.90, up $3.90 from $1,198.40 at the close of trading on Monday. Gold ended the previous session down $6.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 104.29 yen compared to the 104.11 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3675 compared to yesterday's $1.3696.

Asia

Stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Tuesday, as the strong data on U.S. personal spending brightened the economic outlook. China's central bank moved to ease cash crunch fears, further bolstering investor confidence.

Following the public holiday on Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index eked out a modest gain, edging up 18.91 points or 0.1 percent to 15,889. During the session, the index rose above 16,000 for the first time in six years before paring its gains.

Mitsubishi Motors soared 4.3 percent after lifting its operating profit forecast for this financial year, while SoftBank fell 1.2 percent on reports its CEO has approached six banks to finance a bid to buy the majority of T-Mobile.

Australian stocks extended gains for the fourth day in thin holiday trading. In an abbreviated session on account of Christmas Eve, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 35.35 points or 0.7 percent to 5,327.

Banks rose across the board, with NAB, Commonwealth, ANZ and Westpac gaining between 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent. Retailers also gained ground. Wesfarmers rose 0.6 percent, Woolworths gained 0.3 percent and Harvey Norman Holdings rallied 1.6 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up 257.99 points or 1.1 percent to 23,180, and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.20 points or 0.2 percent to 2,093.

The gains came after China's central bank injected cash into the banking system via collateralized repos - repurchase agreements to ease a cash crunch.

Europe

European stocks extended a recent upward trend, although trading remained light ahead of the Christmas break. Several European markets, such as Germany, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Italy, were closed on the day.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

On the economic front, data from the statistical office Insee showed that French consumer spending grew 1.4 percent in November, more than offsetting the 0.1 percent drop seen in October and exceeding expectations for a 0.4 percent increase. The increase marked the fastest growth since February of 2012.

A separate report showed that the French economy shrank 0.1 percent in the third quarter, confirming preliminary estimates.

U.S. Economic Reports

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose by much more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department, with the increase partly reflecting a rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

The report said durable goods orders surged up by 3.5 percent in November following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in October. Economists had expected orders to increase by about 2.0 percent compared to the 1.6 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding an 8.4 percent jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still rose by 1.2 percent in November compared to a 0.7 percent increase in October. The growth compares to economist estimates for another 0.7 percent increase.

The Commerce Department is schedule to release a separate report on new home sales in the month of November at 10 am ET. Economists expect new home sales to climb to an annual rate of 450,000.

New home sales jumped 25.4 percent to an annual rate of 444,000 in October after sliding 6.6 percent to 354,000 in September.

The Commerce Department released the data for both October and September on the same day earlier this month as a result of the recent government shutdown.