U.S. Stocks May Turn In Another Mixed Performance In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, the major U.S. stock indexes may once again move in opposite directions in early trading on Friday.

The major index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open for the markets, with the Nasdaq 100 futures down by 0.5 percent but the Dow futures up by 0.2 percent.

A slump by shares of Broadcom (AVGO) may weigh on the Nasdaq, as the chipmaker is tumbling by 5.4 percent in pre-market trading.

Broadcom is under pressure despite reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and providing upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Chipmakers Advance Micro Devices (AMD) and Micron Technology (MU) are also seeing pre-market weakness, potentially reflecting a continued rotation out of tech stocks.

The Dow may continue to benefit from the shift toward cyclical stocks after jumping to a new record closing high on Friday. The broader S&P 500 also ended the previous session at a new record closing high.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.

The major U.S. stock indexes moved in starkly opposite directions in early trading on Thursday, with the Dow moving sharply higher and the Nasdaq showing a significant pullback.

While the Nasdaq climbed well off its worst levels of the day, the tech-heavy index still closed down 60.30 points or 0.3 percent at 23,593.86

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 14.32 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 6,901.00 and the Dow jumped 646.26 points or 1.3 percent to a new record closing high of 48,704.01.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved notably higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 1.8 percent.

The major European markets are showing more modest moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is nearly unchanged, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.01 to $57.59 a barrel after tumbling $0.86 to $57.60 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after spiking $88.30 to $4,313 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $65.70 to $4,378.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.91 yen versus the 155.57 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1732 compared to yesterday's $1.1738.