• The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 164.7 points, or 0.66 percent, to 24,962.48, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.63 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,703.96, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 8.14 points, or 0.11 percent, to7,210.09.
The Dow and S&P 500 advanced on Thursday to halt a two-session losing skid, buoyed by gains in industrial and energy shares as U.S. Treasury yields eased, while the Nasdaq lost ground for a third straight session.
• Major indexes advanced early as worries about a faster pace of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve were eased by comments by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who expressed concerns that a “bunch of hikes” could turn Fed policy restrictive. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR retreated from the more than four-year highs hit on Wednesday.
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• Asian stocks made moderate gains early on Friday after U.S. stock indexes mostly edged higher in the last session.
• The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.14 percent in the morning. Oil-related stocks were mostly higher following the rise in oil prices overnight. Inpex and JXTG Holdings added 0.93 percent and 1.76 percent, respectively.
Automakers were also in positive territory, with Toyota climbing 0.32 percent early on. The technology sector was a mixed picture: Heavyweight SoftBank Group added 0.6 percent and Sony lost 0.82 percent.
• On the data front, Japan's core consumer price index rose 0.9 percent in January compared to one year ago, a touch above the 0.8 percent rise forecast, Reuters reported.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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