| Ticker | Status | Jurisdiction | Filing Date | CP Start | CP End | CP Loss | Deadline |
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| Ticker | Case Name | Status | CP Start | CP End | Deadline | Settlement Amt |
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| Ticker | Name | Date | Analyst Firm | Up/Down | Target ($) | Rating Change | Rating Current |
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(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs and headline were updated in the story.)
U.S. stock futures swung between gains and losses on Friday after Thursday’s mixed close. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed.
Thursday experienced a rotation out of expensive tech names, which helped U.S. stocks settle mostly higher, with the Dow Jones surging over 600 points. Overall risk appetite remained resilient following the Federal Reserve's third consecutive interest-rate cut delivered a day earlier.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order aimed at creating a single national framework for artificial intelligence (AI), moving to sideline state-level rules he argued were hindering America’s ability to maintain its leadership in this space.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.17% and the two-year bond was at 3.53%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 73.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.17% |
| S&P 500 | -0.19% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.54% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.06% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.12% at $688.32, while the QQQ declined 0.51% to $622.38, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Industrials, materials, and financials led the gains on Thursday, while communication services and information technology stocks bucked the trend to close lower.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.25% | 23,593.86 |
| S&P 500 | 0.21% | 6,901.00 |
| Dow Jones | 1.34% | 48,704.01 |
| Russell 2000 | 1.21% | 2,590.61 |
Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, maintains a “40,000-foot view” of the U.S. economy that anticipates “moderate growth and easing price pressures” heading into 2026.
He expects GDP growth to improve and inflation to moderate compared to 2025, creating an environment where “risk assets should do well, particularly equities.”
Wren projects S&P 500 earnings growth of slightly more than 11%, supported by key trends such as AI infrastructure spending, deregulation, and significant tax refunds.
Despite this optimism, Wren advises active management, stating that “now is not the time to put portfolios on autopilot.” He recommends rotating funds from Communication Services and Information Technology—both recently downgraded to neutral—into sectors with more upside potential.
Specifically, he highlights Financials, Industrials, and Utilities as favored sectors. Wren notes that opportunity in the latter two is “largely tied to AI capex spending” and the necessary upgrades to the electrical grid to support data centers.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday;
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.09% to hover around $57.66 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.75% to hover around $4,311.82 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.10% higher at the 98.4480 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 1.99% higher at $92,179.17 per coin.
Asian markets closed higher on Friday, as India’s NIFTY 50, Australia's ASX 200, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.
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