Wall Street set to open higher as Trump slump eases

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - U.S. stocks looked set to open higher on Friday as a sense of calm prevailed over Wall Street in a week that was dominated by political uncertainty surrounding Donald Trump's presidency.

Still, the indexes are on track for their worst weekly declines since mid-April after Trump unexpectedly fired FBI Director James Comey. Reports later alleged Trump had asked Comey to end an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's ties with Russia.

Investors fear that the political uproar in Washington could hinder Trump from pursuing his promise of fiscal stimulus, a key driver for Wall Street's record-setting run.

"The market is looking to stabilize as no new political news hit this morning headlines, suggesting that investors are willing to play out the political turmoil without pushing the panic switch," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial wrote in a note.

Oil prices rose 1.3 percent, notching their third straight day of gains, lifting the indexes on Friday.

Dow e-minis were up 32 points, or 0.16 percent at 8:27 a.m. ET (1230 GMT), with 23,715 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 6.5 points, or 0.28 percent, with 154,315 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 21.5 points, or 0.38 percent, on volume of 33,048 contracts.

Shares of farm equipment maker Deere & Co rose 7 percent to $120.50 premarket after the company reported a 62 percent jump in quarterly profit.

Campbell Soup slipped nearly 4 percent to $54.72 after the packaged foods company warned that its full-year sales could decline.

Dow member Wal-Mart was up 0.4 percent at $77.85 after BMO upgraded the big-box retailer's stock to "market perform" from "underperform".

Autodesk soared 12.4 percent to $107.67 after the software maker reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)