US Stocks Likely To Open Higher: 'Traders Have Become Jaded About Trump's Tumultuous Trade Dealmaking,' Says Expert

U.S. stock futures rose on Friday after closing lower on Thursday. Futures of major benchmark indices advanced in premarket.

This came after President Donald Trump hinted at a possible reconciliation with Elon Musk following a public spat. In an interview with Politico on Thursday, Trump was unfazed about the questions on his feud with Musk, stating, “Oh it’s okay.”

"It's going very well, never done better,” he said as his aides have scheduled a call with Musk to potentially resolve the conflict.

The disagreement between the two influential figures stemmed from Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” a legislative proposal outlining his presidential agenda. Their exchanges grew increasingly bitter, leading aides and allies to step in. Ultimately, Musk indicated a willingness to reconcile.

The investors will be on the lookout for May’s U.S. employment report, slated to be released later today. The nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 130,000, down from April’s 170,000 gain.

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.38% and the two-year bond was at 3.92%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its June meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.43% at $595.60, while the QQQ advanced 0.45% to $527.14, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

Communication services stocks on the S&P 500 closed higher on Thursday, bucking the overall market trend as most sectors, particularly consumer discretionary, materials, and consumer staples, recorded losses.

U.S. stocks settled lower, with the S&P 500 registering declines, notably impacted by a drop in Tesla Inc. TSLA shares.

Individual corporate news also contributed to the market’s slide; Ciena Corp. CIEN shares fell 13% after the company announced disappointing earnings for its fiscal second quarter.

Similarly, PVH Corp. PVH shares tumbled 18% following a reduction in its fiscal year 2025 guidance and a second-quarter adjusted EPS forecast that both fell below analyst estimates.

On the economic data front, unit labor costs in the U.S. nonfarm business sector saw a 6.6% increase during the first quarter, while labor productivity in the same sector declined by 1.5%.

Conversely, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $61.6 billion in April, marking its lowest point since September 2023.

The Dow Jones index ended 108 points or 0.25% lower at 42,319.74, whereas the S&P 500 index fell 0.53% to 5,939.30. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.83% to 19,298.45, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, dropped 0.054% to end at 2,097.35.

Insights From Analysts:

“Stock, bond, currency, and commodity traders have become jaded about Trump’s tumultuous trade dealmaking,” said Ed Yardeni in his daily note.

According to him, even the rising concerns about a shortage of Chinese rare earth minerals, which are needed by several U.S. manufacturers, haven’t fazed the stock market so far.

He said that “Investors seem to be more focused on whether the US economy is slowing or not.”

Yardeni stated that stock and bond prices would likely stay firm if today’s payroll employment report exceeds 100,000.

However, the report “isn’t likely to resolve the debate about the labor market,” he added, saying that he anticipates that it will be better than expected.”

Meanwhile, Louis Navellier said that he remains optimistic that the tariff confusion will dissipate in the upcoming months.

“I expect inflation will remain low due to (1) lower crude oil prices, (2) deflation from China, and (3) excess inventories from the dumping of goods in the first quarter,” he said.

He also added that resurging consumer confidence and rising personal income are a powerful ‘one-two’ punch that will sustain strong economic growth. 

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep an eye on Friday:

• May’s U.S. employment report, unemployment rate, and hourly wages data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• April’s consumer credit data will be announced at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Stocks In Focus:

• ABM Industries Inc. ABM rose 1.97% in premarket on Friday as analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $2.06 billion, before the opening bell.
• G-III Apparel Group Ltd. GIII was up 0.43% ahead of its earnings, which are supposed to be released before the opening bell. Analysts expect earnings of 12 cents per share on revenue of $580.37 million.
• Manchester United PLC MANU was 0.07% above the flatline as analysts expect it to report a quarterly loss of 33 cents per share on revenue of $202.47 million, before the opening bell.
• Docusign Inc. DOCU slumped 18.91% after reducing its billings guidance for the full year, despite reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.
• Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU crashed 21.39% as it lowered its full-year earnings forecast to $14.58 to $14.78 per share, down from prior guidance of $14.95 to $15.15 per share.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. FCEL rose 2.12% ahead of its earnings, which are supposed to be released before the opening bell. Analysts expect a quarterly loss of $1.38 per share on revenue of $32.42 million.
• Rent the Runway Inc. RENT jumped 20.03% as it forecasted double-digit subscriber growth in 2025 during its earnings.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA was up 5.18% after a possibility of reconciliation with Trump following Thursday’s online feud.

Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.60% to hover around $62.99 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.13% to hover around $3,357.15 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was higher by 0.26% at the 98.9970 level.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as Japan's Nikkei 225, India's S&P BSE Sensex, and South Korea's Kospi indices rose. Whereas, Australia's ASX 200, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices fell. European markets were also mixed in early trade.

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