Dow futures rise as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo gain after results

What’s driving markets

JPMorgan
JPM,
+0.49%
and Wells Fargo
WFC,
+1.04%
stock rose 3% each after the banks reported earnings and revenue that beat forecasts. Investors have been eager to hear what those financial giants have to say after a quarter marked by bank failures and interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Investors are also welcoming numbers from UnitedHealth Group Inc.
UNH,
-0.87%

In U.S. economic data, with import prices for June are vdue at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, with preliminary consumer sentiment for July at 10 a.m.

The S&P 500 index’s first break above the key 4,500 level in months was fueled by better-than-expected news on producer price inflation on Thursday and data showing fewer applicants for jobless benefits. That news followed similarly cheerier consumer price inflation data on Wednesday that also sparked a rally in stocks.

“The probability of another 25 [basis point] hike at the Fed’s July meeting didn’t change much. It’s still given more than 90% probability. But the chances of another rate increase following the June hike are getting blurrier, so equity markets cheer the softening Fed expectations,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, told clients in a note.

Bond yields were slightly higher on Friday a day after falling for most of the week. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield 
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.765%,
 which started the week near 4.1%, moved to 3.79% around a level not seen since late June.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index 
DXY,
+0.11%
%, a gauge of the currency’s value against its main rivals, slipped further into territory it hasn’t seen in more than a year, trading at 99.77 after falling for the past week also.

Companies in focus

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. 
  JPM,
  +0.49%
  stock was up in premarket trades Friday after the largest U.S. bank’s second-quarter profit blew past analyst estimates.

• Wells Fargo & Co. 
  WFC,
  +1.04%
   rallied toward a four-month high in premarket trading after the San Francisco-based bank beat second-quarter profit and revenue expectations, as higher interest rates and loan balances provided a boost to net interest income.

• UnitedHealth Group Inc. 
  UNH,
  -0.87%
  jumped in premarket trading, to bounce off a 19-month low, after the health care services and insurance company beat second-quarter earnings expectations and lifted its full-year outlook.

• Citigroup Inc. 
  C,
  +0.63%
  climbed in premarket trading Friday, after the money center bank reported second-quarter results that fell but beat expectations, as weakness in markets was offset by growth in personal banking and services.