(RTTNews) - After recovering from their worst levels but still ending the previous session modestly lower, stocks may see continued weakness in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid considerable volatility by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions.
Brent crude oil futures jumped above $111 a barrel earlier in the day but have pulled back sharply and are currently tumbling by nearly 2 percent.
The volatility in the oil markets comes as traders keep a close eye on developments in the Middle East war and the impact on energy supplies.
Crude oil prices initially surged amid news of new attacks on energy infrastructure in the region but gave back ground amid reports suggesting the U.S. is weighing lifting sanctions on some Iranian oil to increase supply and bring down prices.
The rollercoaster extends the volatility seen in the previous session, when oil prices soared to nearly $120 a barrel before pulling back sharply after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Israel would be helping the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the volatility shown by crude oil may lead some traders to refrain from making significant moves, with a lack of major U.S. economic data also likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.
After seeing notable weakness throughout much of the session, stocks regained some ground in the latter part of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remained in negative territory.
The Nasdaq ended the day down 61.73 points or 0.3 percent at 22,090.69 but had slumped by as much as 1.4 percent to a six-month intraday low. The S&P 500 also fell 18.21 points or 0.3 percent to 6,606.49, while the Dow slid 203.72 points or 0.4 percent to 46,021.43.
Despite the late-day recovery attempt, the major averages still ended the day at their lowest closing levels in four months.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are showing modest moves to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are all up by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $1.32 to $94.82 a barrel after slipping $0.18 to $96.14 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plummeting $290.50 to $4,605.70 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $77.20 to $4,682.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.61 yen versus the 157.72 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1571 compared to yesterday's $1.1588.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
