Markets Are Surging

MIKE BIRD

 OCT. 17, 2014

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Fireworks go off in New York Harbor to celebrate the 125th birthday of the Statue of Liberty October 28, 2011.

European markets are rallying on Friday, but it looks like there is going to be some incredible volatility again following a rocky day for stocks. 

France’s CAC 40 is up 1.58%

Spain’s IBEX is up 1.82%

Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 1.71%

Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.73%

Germany’s DAX is up 1.23%

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.40%. It’s now down 9.48% since the start of the year, one of the worst-performing indices in the advanced economies during 2014 so far.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 0.60%. 

US stock futures are climbing, with the S&P up 10.5 points and the Dow up 85 points. 

In Europe, construction output figures will be released at 5 a.m. ET. 

It’s a fairly light day for data from the US, but Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will be speaking at 8:30 a.m. ET. Markets will be looking for any comment on the current volatility, or on the end of QE. US housing starts figures are also out at 8:30 a.m, with analysts expecting over a million units.