U.S. stock futures are higher in pre-market trading for Friday, January 19. The Dow Futures are trading at 26,022.00 for up with +0.31% percent or +81.00 point.The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,803.50 for up with +0.26% percent or +7.50 point. The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 6,845.25 for up with +0.47% percent or +32.25 point.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 23,808.06 for up with +0.19% percent or +44.69 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 32,169.65  for up with +0.15% percent or +47.71 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,487.86  for up with +0.38% percent or +13.11 point. India’s BSE Sensex are trading at 35,346.90 for up with +0.25% percent or +86.61 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 are trading at 7,711.52 for up  with +0.14% percent or  +10.56 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 13,397.08 for up with +0.87% percent or +115.65 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,520.77  for up with +0.47% percent or +25.94 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 400.26 for up with +0.38% percent or +1.51 point.

Friday’s Factors and Events

The Dow Jones industrial average fell on Friday as investors assessed the possibility of the government shutting down at the end of the week.

The 30-stock index closed 97.84 points lower at 26,017.81 after falling 168.33 points at its session lows. The S&P 500 alternated between gains and losses throughout the session before closing 0.2 percent lower at 2,798.03.

Congress needs to pass a spending bill by the end of Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Historically, a government shutdown has led to a short-term pullback in the stock market.

Thursday’s Activity

U.S. market were lower on Thursday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,017.81  with a loss of -0.37% percent or -97.84 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,798.03 with a loss of -0.16% percent or – 4.53 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,296.05 with a loss of -0.03% percent or -2.23 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,576.73 with a loss of -0.87%percent or  -9.93 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 287.87   with a loss of -0.77%  percent or -2.23 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 22.71 with a loss of  -0.39% percent or -0.09 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,241.59 with a loss of -0.14% percent or  -1.79 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,651.54  with a loss of -0.21% percent or  -3.46 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,548.21  with a loss of -0.18% percent or -2.71 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 26,017.81  with a loss of -0.37% percent or +97.84 point.