Wall Street manages positive start amid uptick in optimism

Wall Street managed to make a positive start to Friday’s session as traders looked to end a turbulent week on a high note. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.54% at 32,795 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.41% to 3,925 and the Nasdaq rose 0.15% to 12,997. The uptick appears to be related to a rise in post-pandemic optimism after US president Joe Biden doubled the country’s vaccination target for his first 100 days in office, while softer personal consumption expenditure data has somewhat allayed inflation fears. Another piece of good news came from the Fed as it said the restrictions on bank dividends and share repurchases will end after June 30, providing a boost for financial stocks. 8:00am: Wall Street to open mixed The main indices on Wall Street are heading for a mixed start on Friday morning as markets continue to ponder the ongoing blockage of the Suez Canal by a grounded supertanker. US futures are expecting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to move higher at the opening bell, while the Nasdaq is expected to open in the red. “Front of mind for the market is the matter of the Suez Canal being blocked, potentially for many more days. What’s important is how that might affect global trade and the fact it is already causing shipping rates to rise, which in turn could fuel inflation as extra costs are passed on to the consumer,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “This all suggests we remain at a fragile point for markets and one that could lead to heightened volatility”, he added. One such victim of the turmoil hitting the shipping markets is industrial equipment group Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which has said it is experiencing delays of part shipments and may need to airlift some components to where they are needed, which is reportedly costing around US$400mln in delays. Three things to watch for on Friday: WeWork is back in the headlines after announcing plans to go public through a US$9bn SPAC merger Similarly, indoor agriculture specialist AeroFarms is also listing through a SPAC merger valued at US$1.2bn, continuing the recent trend of reverse takeover floats On the macro front, US personal spending and incomes data will be in focus as well as trade balance info and the latest Michigan consumer sentiment expectations for March