U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Recent Weakness

Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday, regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

The Dow has shown a particularly steep drop so far this week, with the blue chip index turning negative for the New Year.

Tech stocks may help lead a rebound on Wall Street amid a positive reaction to quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX).

Shares of Netflix are surging by 6.3 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but stronger than expected subscriber growth.

Netflix also announced Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO, with COO Greg Peters assuming the post of co-CEO alongsideTed Sarandos.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) is also likely to see initial strength after announcing plans to cut about 12,000 jobs or 6 percent of its workforce.

Not long after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of December.

Existing home sales are expected to tumble by 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 3.95 million in December after plunging by 7.7 percent to an annual rate of 4.09 million in November.

After ending Wednesday’s session sharply lower, stocks saw further downside during trading on Thursday. The major averages fluctuated after coming under pressure in early trading but remained stuck in the red.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow slid 252.40 points or 0.8 percent to 33,044.56, the Nasdaq slumped 104.74 points or 1.0 percent to 10,852.27 and the S&P 500 fell 30.01 points or 0.8 percent to 3,898.85.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 1.8 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.40 to $80.73 a barrel after advancing $0.85 to $80.33 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $16.90 to $1,923.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $6.10 to $1,930 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 130.29 yen versus the 128.43 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0821 compared to yesterday’s $1.0833.

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