Dow futures rise 145 pts

US equities are expected to begin higher Friday on rising hope that the Federal Reserve would stop its monetary tightening drive, however concerns about a future recession, as well as the debt ceiling and the banking sector, persist.

The Dow Futures contract was up 145 points, or 0.4%, at 11:00 GMT, the S&P 500 Futures contract was up 15 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 100 Futures contract was up 28 points, or 0.2%.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 200 points, or 0.7%, lower Thursday, recording its fourth straight loss, on renewed concerns about deposit outflows in the regional banking sector following PacWest Bancorp’s announcement that deposits fell by about 10% in the first week of May.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.2%.

Data released Thursday showed that producer price growth in the U.S. eased to its slowest level in over two years, while jobless claims rose to their highest mark since October 2021.