Wall Street Might Open Broadly Lower

(RTTNews) - Fed Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech might get special attention on Friday.

Oil prices were subdued today. Brent crude futures edged down slightly to $88.49 a barrel.

Gold held steady. Spot gold was little changed at $4,602.34 an ounce.

Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading higher.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open broadly down.

As of 8.00 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 37.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 1.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 93.75 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Thursday. The Nasdaq jumped 411.16 points or 1.6 percent to 26,541.35 and the S&P 500 advanced 55.29 points or 0.7 percent to 7,730.99. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 105.56 points or 0.2 percent to 53,569.44.

On the economic front, the Chicago PMI for August will be issued at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is 59.0, while it was up 57.6 in the prior month.

The Consumer Sentiment for August will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 51.0, while it was 51.0 in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week is scheduled at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 804, while the U.S. rig count was 588.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will give keynote remarks before the 2026 Jackson Hole Economic policy symposium at 10.00 am ET.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index slid 0.11 percent to 3,952.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fluctuated before finishing marginally higher at 25,584.79.

Japanese markets advanced as tech and chip stocks followed their U.S. peers higher. The Nikkei average edged up 0.41 percent to 66,405.56 while the broader Topix index closed up 0.72 percent at 4,146.71.

Australian markets rose notably. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.60 percent to 9,092.30 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 0.55 percent higher at 9,294.30.