S&P 500 contracts inched higher before an abbreviated Thanksgiving weekend cash trading session on Wall Street. Those on the Nasdaq 100 were steady. Energy companies climbed in premarket as oil prices clawed back some of their weekly decline. Apple Inc. slipped after a report that production of iPhones in November could fall by at least 30 per cent at a Chinese plant where worker protests have disrupted operations.
Wall Street shares are poised to end the shortened trading week higher, rising after recent commentary from Federal Reserve officials that supported the case for a slower pace of interest-rate increases. Fed minutes published Wednesday showed that officials concluded the central bank should soon moderate the pace of interest-rate hikes to mitigate overtightening risks.
China's central bank on Friday cut the amount of cash lenders must hold in reserve for the second time this year, an escalation of support for an economy racked by surging COVID cases and a continued property downturn.