Wall Street Might Continue Rally

Earnings reports as well as the monthly jobs report might special attention on Friday.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.

As of 7.45 am ET, the Dow futures were up 44.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 32.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 186.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished Thursday’s trading near their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 369.54 points or 1.0 percent to 38,519.84, the Nasdaq surged 197.63 points or 1.3 percent to 15,361.64 and the S&P 500 shot up 60.54 points or 1.3 percent to 4,906.19.

On the economic front, the Employment Situation for January will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 170,000, while it was up 216,000 in December. The unemployment rate is expected to increase by 3.8 percent, while it was up by 3.7 percent in the prior month.

The Consumer Sentiment for January will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 78.8, while it was up 78.8 in December.

The Factory Orders for December will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.4 percent, while it was up 2.6 in November.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is expected at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 851 and the U.S. rig count was up 621.

Asian stocks advanced on Friday. Chinese shares fell. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index tumbled 1.46 percent to 2,730.15 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 0.21 percent lower at 15,533.56.

Japanese shares eked out modest gains. The Nikkei average rose 0.41 percent to 36,158.02 while the broader Topix index ended up 0.22 percent at 2,539.68.

Australian markets climbed on Friday. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 jumped 1.47 percent to 7,699.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 1.44 percent higher at 7,931.60.

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