Stock Market Today: Stocks higher, bonds rally with Black Friday in focus

29 Nov 2024, 12:04 by Martin Baccardax · The Fresno Bee

U.S. equity futures moved higher in early Friday trading, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its best monthly gain since February, as investors extended bets an an end-of-year rally tied to growth and inflation optimism in the world's biggest economy.

Trading volumes are likely to remain muted through the holiday-shortened session, however, with a closing bell set for 1:00 pm Eastern time following the Thursday Thanksgiving break.

Stocks are riding solid gains into the final month of the year, with the S&P 500 having booked a 5.1% gain in November and holding onto a 2024 advance of around 25.8%.

Bond markets are rallying this morning, as well, following inflation data earlier this week that was largely in-line with Wall Street forecasts and a series of appointments to President-elect Donald Trump's economic team that suggest he could be dissuaded from the worst of his trade and tariff policies.

Americans are poised to spend more than $1 trillion dollars this holiday season, according to data from the National Retail Federation.Anadolu/Getty ImagesAnadolu/Getty Images

Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were last marked at 4.205% in overnight trading, around 6 basis points lower than Wednesday levels, while 2-year notes eased to 4.192% heading into the start of the New York trading session.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, slipped 0.19% to 105.941, putting it on pace for its biggest weekly decline in three months.

On Wall Street, investors are likely to focus on data from Black Friday shopping events as they measure the strength of the U.S. consumer heading into the crucial holiday season.

The National Retail Federation, meanwhile, sees spending rising to a record $902 per person over the two months ending on New Year's Eve, with the overall 2024 tally rising 3.8% from last year's total of $964.4 billion.

Heading into the start of the trading day, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 16 point opening bell gain, with the Nasdaq called 75 points higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average priced for a 140 point boost.

In Europe, the region-wide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.09% higher in Frankfurt while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.03% in London.

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Much of the market's attention, however, was focused on movements in the government bond market, where French bond yields continue to rise amid the country's ongoing budget crisis that could lead to a no-confidence vote for President Emmanuel Macron's center-left government.

Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.37% lower in Tokyo following inflation data for the month of November that could trigger a Bank of Japan rate hike before the end of the year, lifting the yen to a six-week high of 150.03 against the U.S. dollar.

The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, slipped 0.07% lower into the close of trading.

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This story was originally published November 29, 2024, 4:04 AM.