U.S. stock futures climbed on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average looked to add to this week’s gains, which have led the 30-stock average to all-time highs. Dow futures rose by 92 points, or 0.25%. S&P 500 futures inched up 0.23%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.27%. The major averages are headed for their seventh straight positive week. As of Thursday, the Dow is higher on the week by 2.8%. The S&P 500 is up by 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.5% this week. It would also mark the S&P 500′s seventh straight weekly gain, its longest winning streak since 2017. The Dow is also on pace for a nine-week winning streak, its longest run since 2019. Wall Street is coming off yet another fresh record high for the Dow on Thursday. The 30-stock benchmark rose more than 150 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose. The S&P 500 could soon join the Dow with its own all-time high. The broad market index is less than 1.6% away from a record close set in January 2022. The Nasdaq is roughly 8% away from its highest-ever close, and about 9% from its all-time intraday high. Stocks rallied this week after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday admitted that its efforts to tamp down inflation are taking hold, and indicated three interest rate cuts are coming in 2024, buoying investor sentiment. The November retail sales data that came in stronger than expected on Thursday, following this week’s cooler inflation readings, added to hopes the Federal Reserve could navigate a soft landing. “What we heard from Fed Chair Powell was that it’s not about the economy, it’s not about financial conditions, it’s not about the jobs market. It’s about inflation and inflation have been coming down pretty far and fast,” Anastasia Amoroso, chief investment strategist at iCapital, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “And if we’re at a point where inflation is 2.7%, by March, that consensus is expecting interest rates are still at 5.5%,” Amoroso said. “That’s a big gap that the Fed can do something about, meaning cutting rates.” U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday, extending back-to-back days of declines, as investors digested the outlook for interest rates following signals from the Federal Reserve that rates will be cut next year. At 6:05 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was over 1 basis point lower at 3.9148%. It had fallen below the 4% level for the first time since August on Thursday, reaching its lowest level since July. The 2-year Treasury yield was last down by around 2 basis points at 4.38%. On Thursday, it hit levels not seen since May. Asia-Pacific markets climbed Friday, led by Hong Kong, as Wall Street continued to rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates and laid out a roadmap for cuts in 2024 and beyond. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains in Asia and closed 2.38% higher, while the CSI 300 index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.31%, ending at a fresh 4-year low of 3,341.55. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.88% to close at 7,442.7, notching its sixth straight day of gains to reach a new four-month high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also rebounded from Thursday’s losses, up 0.87% and ending at 32,970.55 , while the Topix was 0.47% higher and finished at 2,332.28. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.76% to 2,563.56, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.27% to close at 838.31. The Kospi is at its highest level in almost three months. Oil prices rose on Friday, on track to notch their first weekly rise in two months after benefiting from a bullish forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on oil demand for next year and a weaker dollar. Brent futures rose 27 cents to $76.88 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also climbed 27 cents, to $71.85. Both benchmarks were on course for a modest weekly gain, having been lifted by a mid-week announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it could cut borrowing costs next year. Gold prices were on track for a weekly jump, driven by a weaker U.S. dollar and lower Treasury yields, after the Federal Reserve indicated lowering borrowing costs next year. Spot gold edged up 0.3% to $2,041.42 per ounce and has risen more than 1% this week. U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $2,056.50.
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