U.S. futures are mostly higher as Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh touts the benefits of artificial intelligence, a sector that has been hammered this week by concerns over the rising costs of borrowing money.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% on Friday, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4%. Nasdaq futures dipped 0.1%.
Warsh said Friday at the IMF and World Bank gathering in Bangkok that AI could have a positive impact on the global economy.
“I’d say the advent of this new technology is probably the most consequential change to the U.S. and the global economy in my lifetime,” Warsh said. “There really is, I think, a huge benefit to the global economy, the U.S. economy, over the horizon.”
AI and chip stocks were choppy before the market opened Friday. Nvidia was flat after closing down 1.8% on Thursday, and shares are down more than 5% this week. Broadcom's stock declined 0.7% before the market open, while those for Advanced Micro Devices fell 1.8%.
Shares of Tesla climbed more than 3% after the electric vehicle maker unveiled its Roadster sports car that will go into production in two years. Netflix's stock fell more than 3% after the company announced that Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will be replaced by Peter Rice. The news comes just days after Netflix said that it plans to lay off about 6% of its workforce, amounting to nearly 1,000 positions.
Oil prices are still elevated as the global oil supply remains under pressure without a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the Iran war.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.3% to $106.27 per barrel. That is still high compared with around $72 a barrel in late February before the start of the war. Brent climbed into triple digits last month, the first time since July.
Benchmark U.S. crude edged 0.2% lower to $97.77 per barrel.
The national average for gasoline is at $4.33 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. While that's lower than the $4.37 a gallon that it averaged last month, it's sharply higher than the $3.06 a gallon from a year ago.
Oil remains well-supported as uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East and concerns over oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz had the market “pricing in a significant risk premium,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary Friday.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 declined slightly to 10,837.99. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4% to 7,966.11, while Germany’s DAX rose 1% to 25,645.64. Asian markets were higher.
The U.S. dollar rose to 158.02 Japanese yen from 158 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1256, up from $1.1220.
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