Stocks poised to rise at open
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Friday after New York Fed Governor John Williams and Fed Vice President Richard Clarida hinted at proactive rate cuts later this month to respond to slowing global growth.
“When you only have so much stimulus at your disposal, it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress,” Williams said during a conference Thursday. Meanwhile, Clarida told Fox Business that “you don’t need to wait until things get so bad to have a dramatic series of rate cuts.”
At 6:07 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow were up 64 points, or 0.24% to 27,265. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 20.75 points, or 0.26% to 2,954.25 while S&P 500 futures gained 4.38 points, or 0.16% to 3,001.88.
Oil rallies as U.S. Navy downs Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz
U.S. Marines shot down an Iranian drone in the Gulf of Hormuz on Thursday, after it came within 1,000 yards of the USS Boxer.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Donald Trump said: “The Boxer took defensive action against an Iranian drone which had closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards (914m), ignoring multiple calls to stand down and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew. The drone was immediately destroyed.”
Oil prices jumped on the news, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gaining $0.59, or 1.1%, at $55.89 a barrel as of 0642 GMT. Brent crude futures rose $0.81, or 1.3%, at $62.74 a barrel.
CrowdStrike surges on upbeat guidance
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) shares gained $11.95, or 16.43% to $84.70 in premarket trading after the cybersecurity firm issued a better-than-expected guidance for the current quarter and full year on Thursday.
The company, which made its market debut a month ago, posted first-quarter loss of $26 million, or $0.55 per share versus losses of $33.6 million, or $0.77 per share a year ago.
For the full year, the company forecast an adjusted loss of between $0.70 to $0.72 per share on revenue of $430.2 million to $436.4 million. Analysts had been forecasting revenue of $412.3 million and a loss of $1.02 per share.