US equity futures experienced a slight increase ahead of Friday's trading session as traders took into account essential readings regarding US inflation and other relevant economic indicators. The futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all approximately 0.1% higher, indicating cautious optimism in the market. In the commodities sector, oil prices remained largely stable.
The global benchmark, North Sea Brent crude, saw a slight decrease of 0.2%, settling at $70.97 per barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate crude hovered just below at $67.68 per barrel, reflecting the generally stable conditions in the oil market. A pivotal economic metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, was released at 8:30 am ET, showing a 0.1% increase in August, which aligned with the predictions compiled by Bloomberg and was below the previous 0.2% growth.
The core measure, which serves as the preferred inflation gauge for the Federal Reserve, also reflected a modest rise of 0.1% for the month. This outcome contrasted with earlier estimates that anticipated a 0.2% increase, which would have matched the previous reading. Another significant economic update was the US trade in goods deficit, disclosed at the same hour.
This deficit narrowed to $94.26 billion in August from a revised figure of $102.84 billion in the previous month, beating estimates that predicted a $100.2 billion gap. Such improvements in trade data may ease concerns regarding economic growth. Consumer sentiment insights, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, are anticipated to remain unchanged at 69.0 in the final reading for September, consistent with preliminary assessments. Turning to international markets, Japan's Nikkei index closed impressively at 2.3% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged by 3.6%.
China's Shanghai Composite also translated a positive sentiment into a 2.9% increase. In Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.4%, and Germany's DAX index advanced by 1.1% during the early afternoon trading session. In the realm of equities, shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) jumped 4% pre-market following the approval of its schizophrenia drug by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Similarly, shares for Establishment Labs ($ESTA) soared by 22% after the same agency granted approval for the company’s Motiva breast implants, reinforcing the significance of regulatory endorsements in the healthcare sector. Conversely, some companies faced setbacks. Aytu BioPharma ($AYTU) saw its shares decline by 12% after releasing disappointing fiscal Q4 financial results.
Additionally, enVVeno Medical ($NVNO) shares experienced an 18% drop following the announcement of a $15 million public offering of common shares and pre-funded warrants. Overall, the trading day highlighted a mix of cautious optimism driven by positive economic indicators and the impacts of regulatory approvals, alongside challenges faced by certain companies in the equity markets..