NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Starting above 10,000 for the first time in more than 18 months, the Dow Jones industrial average could continue even higher Friday as reports ahead of the bell showed producer prices and the trade deficit at lower levels than expected.
At 8:40 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a stronger start for the major indexes.
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For details of Thursday's advance, click above.
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An afternoon rally and the ability to hang tight at the close gave the Dow its first 10,000 close in more than 18 months. Now the question is whether the milestone will encourage investors who may have stayed on the sidelines in this year's stock run-up, or cause those who are ahead for the year to cash in.
Helping investors make their decisions Friday were a batch of numbers, starting with the Producer Price Index before the start of trading. The November PPI slipped 0.3 percent, compared with a gain of 0.8 percent in October. The reading was lower than economists' expected rise of 0.1 percent, on average, according to Briefing.com. Excluding food and energy costs, PPI slipped 0.1 percent; Wall Street forecast it to remain unchanged.
Also before the open, the government said the trade deficit rose to $41.77 billion in October, up from $41.3 billion in September, but slightly narrower than the $41.8 billion expected by Wall Street, on average. Concern about the nation's trade gap has been a factor in recent dollar weakness.
After the opening bell, the University of Michigan's preliminary December reading of consumer sentiment is projected to have risen to 96 from 93.7 in November. And, late in the trading session, the Treasury budget reading for November is expected to show a monthly deficit of $52 billion.
"The big risk is on the downside, but the market is ignoring a multitude of things they should be concerned about, such as the deficits and the weak labor market," Steve Previs, U.S. share dealer at Jefferies International, told Reuters. "We are getting to a point now where so many stocks are so overvalued that it is ridiculous and somebody at some point is going to say 'Mummy, the Emperor doesn't have any clothes on'."
In early stock action Friday, Adobe Systems (ADBE: Research, Estimates) soared 5.5 percent in pre-market trading on Instinet. The maker of graphics-creation and other software reported higher-than-expected income for its fiscal fourth quarter.
But telecommunications equipment maker Ciena Corp. (CIEN: down $0.17 to $6.18, Research, Estimates) slid 4.2 percent ahead of the open on news the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. plans to remove it from its benchmark Nasdaq-100 index, along with eight other stocks, as part of its yearly rebalancing of the closely watched market gauge.
Boeing (BA: up $0.69 to $39.56, Research, Estimates) may be back in the spotlight after a Wall Street Journal report said U.S. prosecutors had started a new criminal investigation involving the Chicago-based aircraft maker.
The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 0.9 percent Thursday to end above 10,008. The Nasdaq composite index had an even more robust gain, up 2 percent for the session (see chart for details).
Asian-Pacific stocks got a boost Friday from the Dow milestone, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.9 percent. Most European markets advanced in midday trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices sank in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.26 percent from 4.22 percent late Thursday. The dollar weakened against the yen and euro.
Brent oil futures rallied 32 cents to $29.60 a barrel in London, where gold edged higher.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.
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