Friday November 11th

U.S. stock markets index futures rose Friday after China said it would ease some Covid measures, building on optimism from lighter-than-feared inflation data that fueled a broad market rally in the previous session. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 152 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7%. China pulled back some Covid restrictions including shortening quarantine time for international travelers by two days, according to state media on Friday. The news built on a rally that came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a smaller-than-expected rise in consumer prices for the month of October, giving investors hope that inflation may be cooling. U.S. Treasury yields dropped after the data release, while tech stocks soared. The major averages on Thursday posted their biggest one-day rallies since 2020. The Dow jumped more than 1,200 points. The S&P rose 5.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite surged about 7.4%. All of the indexes are on pace for a winning week. The Dow is up 4% on a weekly basis, while the S&P and Nasdaq are on pace for increases of 4.9% and 6.1%, respectively. The three averages are also on track for a positive month. “Markets across the board are euphoric following the cooler CPI this morning… But today’s CPI report, while indicating that inflation is moving in the right direction, does not suggest that inflation has been rooted out of the broader economy,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. “And it does not suggest that Fed’s job to restore price stability is complete.” October’s CPI increased 0.4% for the month and 7.7% from a year ago. Respective estimates from Dow Jones were for gains of 0.6% and 7.9%. Investors are looking forward to preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment data, due out at 10 a.m. ET. Hong Kong stocks jumped more than 7% as Chinese state media reported Covid measures for travel will be eased. Shares in the Asia-Pacific also rose after the release of U.S. inflation data in October raised investor hopes that inflation has peaked. The Hang Seng index jumped 7.74% to close at 17,325.66. The Hang Seng Tech index surged 10.05% to close at 3491.70. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component added 2.120% to end its session at 11,139.77, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.69% to close at 3,087.29. The Nikkei 225 in Japan closed up 2.98% at 28,263.57 and the Topix closed higher at 2.12% to stand at 1,977.76. The Kospi in South Korea ended up 3.37% at 2,483.16 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed 2.79% to close at 7,158. Oil prices jumped on Friday after health authorities in top global crude importer China eased some of the country’s heavy Covid curbs. Brent crude futures rose $2.86, or 3.1%, to $96.53 a barrel, extending a 1.1% rise in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $2.89, or 3.3%, to $89.36 a barrel, after climbing 0.8% in the previous session. Gold prices eased on Friday, but were set for their biggest weekly gain in more than eight months, as U.S. data pointing to slowing inflation boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve would slow its aggressive rate hikes. Spot gold  was down 0.2% at $1,752.17 per ounce, as of 0453 GMT. Prices have risen 4.2% so far in the week.