US stocks edge higher; Black Friday sales in focus

U.S. stock futures mostly inched higher Friday, continuing November’s rally at the start of a shortened trading day.

By 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 90 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 6 points, or 0.1%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures traded largely unchanged.

The main indices on Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, before the Thanksgiving holiday, with the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining almost 200 points, or 0.5%. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%.

These major averages are all on pace for hefty monthly gains, as economic data has tended to fuel optimism that the Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest rate hikes may have peaked.

The Nasdaq has rallied 11% so far in November. The DJIA has advanced nearly 7%, and the S&P 500 is up more than 8%.

The news that Israel and Hamas are set to start a four-day truce today, with the release of a first group of 13 Israeli women and child hostages expected later in the day, has also helped sentiment.

PMIs headline the data slate
There’s little on the economic data slate Friday, although the November manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indices from financial information group S&P Global will attract some attention.

These indices are often seen as proxies for economic activity in the world’s largest economy, with the manufacturing PMI expected to have dipped to 49.8, down from 50.0 in October, the mark that separates contraction from expansion. The services PMI is seen falling to 50.4, down from 50.6 the prior month.

The equivalent data from the eurozone, released earlier Friday, suggested the bloc’s economy will contract again this quarter as consumers continue to rein in spending, likely resulting in a mild recession in one the U.S.’s major trading partners as the year ends.

Black Friday launches sales spree
The retail sector will be in the spotlight during the session, as today is Black Friday, the annual sales spree that typically kicks the crucial holiday shopping season into full gear.

A record 130.7 million people are expected to shop in-store and online in the U.S. on Black Friday this year, according to a survey conducted in early November by the National Retail Federation, a U.S. retail trade group..

However, with many shoppers facing financial pressure, U.S. holiday spending is expected to rise at the slowest pace in five years.

Oil mixed ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Oil prices traded in a mixed fashion Friday after the previous session’s U.S. holiday, but remained on course for the first positive week in five ahead of next week’s OPEC+ meeting to discuss future output levels.

By 06:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.5% lower at $76.70 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.3% to $81.66 a barrel. Both contracts were up around 1% for the week, gaining after an extended rout brought prices to near four-month lows.

Traders still expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, to agree to more supply cuts to boost prices.

However, the OPEC+ meeting was delayed to Nov. 30, having originally been scheduled for Sunday, prompting speculation of disagreements between member countries over planned production cuts.

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,996.40/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0909.