U.S. Stock Futures Rise

By Corrie Driebusch 

U.S. stock futures rose on Friday, putting the market on track to bounce back from the previous session's steep declines.

S&P 500 futures rose 7.7 points, or 0.4%, to 2086.60. E-Mini Dow futures climbed 84 points, or 0.5%, to 17843, and e-mini Nasdaq-100 futures gained 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4421.

In Europe, U.K. stocks edged up in light trading, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.2%. Most European stock markets were closed Friday in observance of the May Day holiday.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, led by shares of companies that had previously performed well, such as biotechnology and small-capitalization companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 195.01 points, or 1.1%, to 17840.52. The S&P 500 dropped 21.34 points, or 1%, to 2085.51, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 82.22 points, or 1.6%, to 4941.42. The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 index declined 2.2%.

So far this year, U.S. stocks performance has been choppy. But even as stocks have seen daily swings, the market has remained range-bound. Through Thursday's close, the Dow is roughly flat for the year, and the S&P 500 is up 1.3%.

"The last four months have been quite a roller coaster," said Richard Yoken, founder of the Portfolio Strategy Group, a White Plains, N.Y.-based wealth management firm that manages roughly $1.3 billion, referring to the ups and downs of the stock market. If clients call to ask about a 150-point move in the market, Mr. Yoken said he would tell them not to worry, since the Dow would probably be back up 150 points the next day.

He said first-quarter earnings so far have been as he anticipated. The wild card for investors, he said, is when the Federal Reserve will start to raise short-term rates, but even that shouldn't cause big stock swings. "This is the most telegraphed potential increase the Federal Reserve has ever had," he said. "With regard to how the market will react, it should be priced in already."

On Wednesday, a statement from the Federal Reserve signaled that interest-rate increases are still possible in the coming months, though it gave few new clues about the specific timing for an increase. Following the financial crisis, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate to virtually zero to jump-start the economy. After more than six years, the Fed is widely expected to raise short-term rates later this year.

In earnings news, LinkedIn Corp.'s shares tumbled 20% premarket after the professional social network sharply lowered its forecast for the year, citing a stronger dollar and weaker demand for traditional advertising.

Shares of Visa Inc. declined 1.6% premarket after the payments network said profit was flat even as revenue rose, citing pressure from a strong dollar and lower gas prices.

Gilead Sciences Inc.'s profit soared thanks to sales of its two key hepatitis C drugs. For the year, the company also raised its guidance for net product sales by $2 billion. Shares rose 2.5% premarket.

In commodity markets, gold futures declined 0.2% to $1179.70 an ounce. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.2% to $59.52 a barrel.

Write to Corrie Driebusch at [e-mail]

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