US pre-open: Futures rise but gains limited ahead of confidence data
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 16 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stocks are expected to push higher again on Friday, though gains are likely to be modest as investors tread carefully following a strong week on Wall Street.
By 0521 in New York, Dow futures were up 0.3% while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were rising 0.2%.
The three benchmark indices have gained 2.6%, 4.5% and 6.6% over the past four trading sessions, respectively, with sentiment boosted by last weekend's agreement between the US and China to lower tariffs for 90 days as the two powerhouses continue trade negotiations.
Meanwhile, billion-dollar AI deals between Saudi Arabia and a bunch of American chip and server manufacturers gave the tech-heavy Nasdaq an extra lift.
Investors have largely shrugged off a raft of mixed economic data and gloomy comments on Thursday from Walmart's boss, who said that consumers should expected price rises - as a direct result from trade tariffs - to kick in as soon as this month.
However, the warning will likely prompt more focus on Friday's release of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, due out at 1000 ET. The gauge is forecast to show a small improvement to 53.4 in May after slumping to 52.2 in April - its lowest since July 2022 - on the back of uncertainties surrounding the Trump administration's trade policies and concerns about a looming uptick in inflation.
"With the Michigan survey having predicted both weaker economics and higher inflation, it comes as no surprise that markets have been paying close attention to this release of late," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
In other economic news, data from the US housing market will be released before the opening bell. Building permits for April will show a monthly drop to 1.45m from 1.467m in March, according to consensus forecasts, while housing starts are tipped to rise to 1.37m from 1.324m, bouncing back after an 11.4% slump the previous month.
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