Stock futures rise on trade optimism
China plans to increase purchases of soybeans, corn and ethanol from the U.S.
U.S. stock futures are on the rise ahead of the Friday Wall Street session.
The major futures indexes are indicating a gain of 0.9 percent.
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China reportedly plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods as part of phase one trade deal with the U.S., according to Bloomberg.
China plans to increase purchases of soybeans, corn and ethanol, picking up after the coronavirus caused a disruption.
In Asian markets on Friday, the Nikkei in Tokyo added 0.6 percent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.7 percent and China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.9 percent.
In Europe, London's FTSE gained 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX rose 0.8 percent and France's CAC added 1.2 percent.
In the U.S. on Thursday, stocks were little changed as optimism about a possible global economic recovery was tempered by concern over rising coronavirus infections.
On Thursday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 edged up by 0.1 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38239.98 | +253.58 | +0.67% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5010.6 | +43.37 | +0.87% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15451.305261 | +169.30 | +1.11% |
Data from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits edged down last week, though applications remained historically high at 1.5 million.
On Thursday, the Bank of England increased the size of its bond-buying program to keep interest rates low. A day earlier, the Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates close to zero and purchase a wider range of bonds to inject money into the financial system.
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In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.02 to $39.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled Thursday at $38.84. Brent crude, the benchmark for international prices, advanced 90 cents to $42.41 per barrel in London. It settled at $41.51 per barrel the previous session.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.