Stocks poised to open higher
U.S. stock futures rose modestly on Friday morning, implying major indices may end the week on a positive note as traders await key remarks from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
Powell, who is scheduled to deliver a speech later a speech this morning at the annual Jackson Hole symposium, could provide clues on how the central bank plans to scale down its pace of asset purchases.
Just a few days ago, the Fed released minutes of its July monetary policy meeting, which showed an intention to start tapering monthly purchases of $120 billion in mortgage-backed securities and Treasury bonds by the end of 2021.
As of 5:00 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow advanced 88 points, or 0.25% to 35,248.
S&P 500 futures were indicated 13 points, or 0.29% higher to 4,479.50 while the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 47.50 points, or 0.31% to 15,322.25.
Alibaba tumbles amid reports Beijing is mulling a ban on U.S. IPOs
Shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) tumbled early on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported that China is setting up new rules to ban technology companies whose data poses potential security risks from going public abroad, including in the United States.
The Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter, said these new rules would target internet companies seeking foreign IPOs through units incorporated outside China.
According to the report, Chinese companies housing less sensitive information, such as those in the agriculture or pharmaceuticals sectors, are still likely to be allowed to list outside the country.
At the time of writing, Alibaba stock was marked $4.54, or 2.75% to $160.70 per share in the premarket trading session.
Apple settles lawsuit suit with U.S. developers and announces big App Store changes
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is loosening payment restrictions on its App Store, pending court approval, as part of a proposed settlement in a 2019 lawsuit that could also see the iPhone maker dish out $100 million to small U.S. app developers.
The company, which is facing legal challenges and growing scrutiny over how it tightly controls its App Store, said in a press release Friday that plans to make a few significant changes to how the online marketplace works on iPad and iPhone.
One of the changes will allow app developers to reach out to their customers and notify them about other payment options for in-app items. Apple also intends to pay $100 million as part of the settlement that will be distributed to all the plaintiffs that file a claim.
However, the settlement does not involve the massive antitrust battle that the company is fighting with Epic Games, the maker of popular video Fortine.
