US stock futures were higher on Friday after the previous session’s rally, with the health of the banking sector still in the news. What drove the markets Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.15% rose 15 points, or 0% to 32499 S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.06% rose 4 points, or 0.1% to 3998. Nasdaq 100 futures NQ00, +0.01% rose 9 points, or 0%, to 12720. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJ EVER rose 1.17% to 372 points, or 1.17%, to 32247, the S&P 500 SPX, +1.76% rose 68 points, or 1.76% to 3960 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +2.48% to 2823, or 2.48%. 11717. What’s Driving Markets Toward the end of Thursday’s session, major banks including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo agreed to sink $30 billion, +9.98% of uninsured deposits into First Republic Bank FRC. The Federal Reserve reported a combined $165 billion in borrowing through its discount window, but also a new facility where bonds trading at a discount can be used as collateral at par. Shares of First Republic may still be under pressure after the lender announced it was suspending its dividend. There is also the issue of Credit Suisse CS, the giant Swiss lender that has turned to its central bank for liquidity. Shares of Credit Suisse CSGN, -3.61% slipped 5% in Zurich trading on Friday. Ahead of next week’s Fed rate decision, industrial production and consumer sentiment data are set for release. “The decision for central banks is whether to target inflation or financial stability. We think they have more of a fight against inflation,” said Citi strategists, who say outcomes such as a global financial crisis or a focus on the US or Europe Gold can perform well in the series.
