IB: US futures extend gains after durable goods data
Futures on major U.S. stock indices extended their gains on Friday after a government report showed that core durable orders rose better-than-expected in August.
Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.86 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.79 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are up 0.95 percent.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in August declined by 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted $191.2 billion on weak demand from transportation equipment. Economists expected a decline of 1.3 percent in August after a 0.7 percent growth in July.
Core durable orders, excluding transportation, increased 2 percent in August compared to 2.8 percent decline in July. Non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 4.1 percent in August compared to a decline of 5.3 percent in the prior month.
The commerce department is due to release August new home sales report at 10:00 am EDT. Economists forecast new home sales to be 290,000 for August against 276,000 in the previous month. Sales of new single-family houses in July plunged 12.4 percent to 276,000 units annual rate, the lowest level since the series started in 1963, from the revised June rate of 315,000.
On the corporate front, technology stocks will be on focus after Advanced Micro Devices Inc. late Thursday cut its third quarter revenue outlook, citing weakness in consumer notebook market in Europe and North America. AMD said it expects revenue to fall 1 percent to 4 percent from the second quarter's $1.65 billion.
Nike shares surged in late trading on Thursday after the company reported first-quarter net income of $559 million or $1.14 per share, up from $513 million or $1.04 per share a year ago.
On Thursday, US stocks ended lower, weighed down by renewed worries about European debt and a jump in U.S. unemployment claims, offsetting a bounce in existing home sales.
The euro advanced 0.95 percent to 1.3441 against the dollar and the yen advanced 0.01 percent against the greenback.
Crude oil futures advanced 0.75 percent to $75.73/barrel and gold futures gained 0.34 percent to $1,300.70 an ounce.
