Warsh Fed Remarks and Falling Oil Lift Wall Street Futures

Wall Street futures rose modestly on Friday morning following neutral commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and a decline in oil prices. In pre-bell trading, the S&P 500 was up 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite remained steady.

Warsh, speaking at an International Monetary Fund session in Bangkok late Thursday, indicated that the US central bank does not feel pressured to raise rates soon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.5% to $97.44, while 10-year US Treasury yields stood at 5.09% in morning action.

Despite the broader optimism, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) traded down 1% pre-bell, reflecting continued caution among investors regarding chip stocks. Asian exchanges mostly closed higher overnight, driven by a rebound in AI and semiconductor shares, while European bourses also moved moderately higher midday.

Individual stocks showed mixed results, with Tesla (TSLA) rising 3.5% after unveiling a new Roadster model late Thursday. Economic data due on the calendar includes September import and export prices at 8:30 am ET, September industrial production at 9:15 am, and the weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm. Bitcoin traded at $82,200 in pre-market action, and spot gold was priced at $4,175 per ounce.