Wall Street Tends To Bounce Back

(RTTNews) - Even on the tenth day of the U.S. Government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats continue to trade blame over the budget standoff.

The University of Michigan's preliminary readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations in the month of October might be the highlight on Friday. Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open positive.

Investors might continue to discuss the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England's caution about soaring stock market valuation and the potential collapse mirroring the dotcom bubble.

In the Asian trading session, the dollar held near two-month highs. Gold was under selling pressure for a second day running due to easing tensions in the Middle East. Likewise, oil extended losses after settling 1.6 percent lower in the previous session.

As of 8.10 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 81.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 10.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 121.25 points.

The U.S. major averages finished lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed well off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Nasdaq edged down 18.75 points or 0.1 percent to 23,024.63, the S&P 500 fell 18.61 points or 0.3 percent to 6,735.11 and the Dow slid 243.36 points or 0.5 percent to 46,358.42.

On the Economic front, the Consumer Sentiment for October will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 54.00, while it was up 55.1 in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be released at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 739, while the U.S. rig count was 549.

The Treasury Statement for September will be released at 2.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the deficit was $344.8 billion.

Asian stocks fell broadly on Friday. Chinese markets ended lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 0.94 percent to 3,897.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.73 percent to 26,290.32.

Japanese markets fell sharply. The Nikkei average tumbled 1.01 percent to 48,088.80. The broader Topix index settled 1.85 percent lower at 3,197.59.

Australian markets ended slightly lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.13 percent to 8,958.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed down 0.13 percent at 9,264.30.