US pre-open: Stocks set for bounce as Trump softens stance on Huawei
Wall Street futures were pointing to a positive open on Friday following some positive news on the trade front, with the President indicating he would be willing to ease restrictions on Chinese telco giant Huawei as part of a broader trade agreement.
As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones futures were ahead 0.64% at 25,626, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were pointing to gains of 0.64% and 0.57% at the bell, respectively.
The Dow looked set to record some gains going into the Memorial Day long weekend as Donald Trump indicated that a trade deal with Beijing could lift the newly instituted restrictions on the Chinese firm.
"If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade deal," Trump told White House reporters on Thursday as he predicted a swift end to the ongoing trade tensions.
When discussing gains across the pond, SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell said: "The Dow Jones should continue this growth this afternoon, the futures suggesting a 140 point climb, pushing it back above 25600.
"All this, seemingly, on Donald Trump's muddled comments claiming Huawei is 'very dangerous' but could still feature in a US-China trade deal."
Elsewhere, a separate report revealed the Commerce Department was considering tariffs on nations that undervalued their currencies to the disadvantage of US firms.
While no countries met Commerce's specific criteria at this time, Washington has considered China a manipulator of its yuan for a while now.
On the data front, US durable and capital goods orders for April will be released at 1330 BST.
In corporate news, shares in US retailer Foot Locker were down in pre-market trading after posting weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Friday, leading it to trim its full-year profit guidance.