Stock Market Today: Dow Set to Rise as Invesco Jumps and China Tech

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Wall Street was headed for an uninspired open Friday, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average was set to start slightly higher, as European and Asian stocks climbed while investors continued to seek a narrative for markets.

Futures for the

Dow
pointed up around 25 points, after the index slipped 63 points Thursday to close at 34,751. Futures for the

S&P 500
indicated an open near flat while the

Nasdaq
was poised to decline slightly when Friday trading begins.

Overseas, Hong Kong’s

Hang Seng Index
rose 1% as Chinese technology stocks surged, with the

Hang Seng Tech Index
rising 3.5% for one of its best days in the past month. The pan-European

Stoxx 600
was 0.6% higher.

Stocks have been wobbly all month as investor concerns flit from central bank policy to inflation to economic growth prospects. The past few days have seen markets chiefly react—positively or negatively—to mixed economic data, whether those be industrial production, retail sales, or jobless claims.

“It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is little in the way of direction for equity markets at the moment,” said Michael Hewson, an analyst at broker CMC Markets. “Investors are increasingly looking for a narrative, whether it be positive or negative to drive the next move, and are coming up empty-handed.”

The rally in commodities appeared to ease, with futures contracts for oil, natural gas, and iron ore declining.

Here are nine stocks on the move Friday

Invesco

(IVZ) shares surged 9.3% in U.S. premarket trading, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the exchange-traded fund giant was in merger talks with State Street’s asset management business.

China’s tech giants broadly rose in Hong Kong, with

Alibaba

(BABA) rising 2.2%, Tencent (0700.H.K.) 2.4%, Baidu (9888.H.K.) 2.4%, and JD.com (9618.H.K.) 4.6%.

European travel stocks were buoyed amid reports that the U.K. would significantly loosen travel rules related to the Covid-19 pandemic. British Airways owner

IAG

(IAG.U.K.) climbed 3.9% as

InterContinental Hotels Group

(IHG.U.K.) lifted 1.5%.

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