MARKET SNAPSHOT: Wall Street Tipped For A Modest Gain As Investors Turn Attention To Fed

U.K. election result brushed aside, for now

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Friday, suggesting Wall Street could eke out a positive week as investors shook off a surprising U.K. election result and began to focus on the meeting next week of Federal Reserve policy makers.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 36 points, or 0.2%, to 21,170, while S&P 500 futures gained 3.5 points to 2,433.50. Nasdaq-100 futures added 5.25 points to 5,898.

The FTSE 100 index moved 0.6% higher, getting a boost (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-futures-swing-higher-as-pound-sinks-to-7-week-low-2017-06-09) as the British pound slumped (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-tumbles-to-7-week-low-as-uk-exit-poll-points-to-hung-parliament-2017-06-08)on the election result. With results in for all but a handful of seats in the U.K. general election, the vote has ended in a "hung parliament," (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-general-election-results-in-a-hung-parliament-2017-06-09) where no single party holds a majority.

Downing Street said Prime Minister Theresa May has now reached an "understanding" with the small Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 seats will give her enough seats to govern.

May called the election as a way to strengthen her hand ahead of negotiations for the U.K. to exit from the European Union, and the lack of a clear winner in the ballot creates new questions for the Brexit process, although analysts cautioned against viewing the vote as a gamechanger.

"Brexit was going to happen regardless of how this election went, and frankly we don't know how hard or soft it would have been had she done better in the vote," said Crit Thomas, global markets strategist at Touchstone Investments, which has about $15 billion in assets under management. "I've been telling clients to peel off some of their U.S. exposure and go overseas for growth, and this election doesn't change that."

Need to know: After U.K. election shocker, Brexit itself looks 'surely in trouble now' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after-uk-election-shocker-brexit-itself-looks-surely-in-trouble-now-2017-06-09)

U.S. stocks managed modest gains on Thursday, with the Dow industrials finishing less than 0.1% higher and the S&P 500 gaining 0.65 point. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%, closing at a record.

In that session, equities saw mostly modest gains after investors shrugged off the testimony of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-key-takeaways-from-comeys-testimony-2017-06-08-17103012) in front of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and its potential threat to destabilize U.S. President Donald Trump. Banks and uitilties rose as the idea of the so-called reflation trade seemed to show signs of revival.

That reflation trade is linked to investor optimism over the expectations for growth-friendly policies from Trump.

"I'm happy that I've been telling clients to be fully invested in the U.S. over the past year, but now I think the U.S. is expensive," Thomas said. "I don't really see any reason to be fearful, because earnings are coming back, the economy seems in decent shape, and I don't think the Fed will raise rates as much as people expect, but if you want to find greater opportunity, you need to go overseas."

With one session left to go, the Dow industrials are off 0.1%, the S&P 500 is down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.3% for the week.

See:'Worst possible outcome'--analysts react to U.K. early election results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/worst-possible-outcome-analysts-react-to-uk-early-election-results-2017-06-08)

Next up, Fed meeting: Traders see a 95.8% probability of a U.S. interest rate increase at the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting next week on June 14, CME Group's FedWatch showed (http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html/).

The only top-tier economic data scheduled for release Friday is an update on wholesale inventories for April, due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

Stocks on the move: Shares of Endo International PLC(ENDP) slumped 14% in premarket trading after the Food and Drug Administration late Thursday said it asked the company to stop selling its opioid pain medication (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fda-asks-endo-to-stop-selling-opioid-in-first-such-move-2017-06-08), reformulated Opana ER, citing concerns about abuse.

U.S.-listed shares of British banks were moving lower in premarket, tracking moves in London. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) slid nearly 4%, while Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) fell 2%.

DuPont Fabros Technology Inc.(DFT) soared 13% in premarket after the developer and operator of multi-tenant data centers announced a deal to be purchased by (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-fabross-stock-soars-toward-record-after-digital-realty-buyout-deal-2017-06-09)Digital Realty Trust Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-fabross-stock-soars-toward-record-after-digital-realty-buyout-deal-2017-06-09).(DLR)

Shares of Nvidia Corp.(NVDA) were up 3% in premarket after shares hit a record high Thursday on the back of a price target upgrade by Citi, to $180, the highest on Wall Street (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-shoots-to-record-after-citi-establishes-street-high-target-2017-06-08).

Other markets: The British pound sank to a seven-week low against the dollar, dropping to $1.2765 from $1.2957 in late trading on Thursday. The dollar was firmer across the board (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rises-pound-hits-7-week-low-as-uk-heads-for-hung-parliament-2017-06-09), with the U.S. dollar index , which compares the dollar to a half-dozen major rivals, rising to 97.38 from 97.02 late Thursday.

Crude oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-pinned-down-by-strong-dollar-supply-worries-2017-06-09) traded higher, while gold edged lower.

In Asia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-returns-to-20000-as-asian-markets-warily-eye-uk-election-2017-06-08), the Nikkei 225 index gained on yen weakness, returning to the 20,000 level, with other markets mixed.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2017 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT)