MW: U.S. stock futures inch higher after Chinese data
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures inched higher and the dollar hit fresh lows Friday after a raft of positive data from China added to the growing sense of a worldwide economic recovery.
S&P 500 futures rose 1.1 points to 1,038.50 while Nasdaq 100 futures rose a half-point to 1,638.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 point.
Telecom and energy stocks fronted the fifth rise in succession for U.S. stocks on Thursday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80 points, the S&P 500 added 10 points and the Nasdaq Composite grew 23 points.
The economic calendar for Friday features the University of Michigan's consumer-confidence gauge for September, import prices for August and wholesale trade for July.
There was a raft of data out from China, where industrial output rose 12%, new loans increased and retail sales climbed 15%.
"Very solid Chinese data provided a further fillip to risk appetite overnight," said currency strategists at Societe Generale.
Japanese GDP during the April to June quarter was revised lower, however.
Campbell Soup (CPB 33.12, +0.76, +2.35%) leads a thin-earnings-release calendar.
Morgan Stanley (MS 28.64, +0.09, +0.32%) will be in the spotlight after announcing that James Gorman will take over from John Mack as chief executive next year, with Mack staying on as chairman.
National Semiconductor (NSM 15.97, +0.25, +1.59%) may be active after reporting a drop in profit and saying current quarter sales may rise 3% to 8% sequentially.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT 46.87, +0.51, +1.10%) said it's buying the 90% of Evalve it doesn't already own for at least $320 million in cash.
"The Evalve deal positions Abbott as first to market with a large competitive window, but risk to market development and market size remains," said analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Overseas, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.2% and the Hang Seng rose to its highest level in over 12 months. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 also was trading at multi-month highs.
The dollar plumbed new lows against rivals, with the greenback especially weak against the Japanese yen, down 0.9% to 90.90 yen.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds were steady at 3.35%, while gold futures were back over $1,000 an ounce.
