U.S. stock futures popped on Friday as traders digested a fresh batch of bank earnings and retail sales that came in ahead of expectations.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 354 points, or 1.16%. S&P 500 jumped 1% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.85%.
A new round of bank results from Wells FargoandCitigroupoffered further insight into the state of the economy. Wells Fargo shares slipped more than 1% in the premarket as quarterly profits declined 48% and the bank set aside funds for bad loans.Citigroup added 3% as the bank beat estimates and benefitted from a rising rate environment.
A day earlier, investors combed through troubling reports from JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, which kicked off major bank earnings, and also weighed the likelihood of larger interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and looming recession concerns.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase dropped about 3.5%after the bank said it built up reserves for bad loans, and suspended share buybacks. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley’s stock declined 0.4% after reporting weaker-than-expected investment banking revenue.
“I don’t have a lot of bullishness on our ability to grow earnings in this environment,” G Squared Private Wealth CIO Victoria Greene said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” “I don’t think it was bad or tragic, you know, but I think unfortunately, this earnings season, any miss on earnings or margins is going to be punished and any actual beats may actually be picked apart.”
June retail sales came in ahead of expectations on Friday, rising 1% on a monthly basis and ahead of Dow Jones’ estimate of 0.9% and indicating that consumers are bolstering retail spending even as inflation hits record highs.
In corporate news, Pinterest shares surged 14% following a Wall Street Journal report that said activist investor Elliott Management took a stake of more than 9% in the social media company.
Wall Street is coming off a mixed session, with the Dow dropping nearly 0.5% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite inched 0.03% higher.