US stocks rally after bruising week while defence stocks lift FTSE - New York’s top index, the S&P 500, was making strides after markets opened, reversing some of the heavy losses from recent days.

British stocks closed higher on Friday, driven by gains in defence and mining shares, ending a choppy week filled with uncertainty around U.S. tariffs. The benchmark FTSE 100 gained 1.1%, set for its best day in over one month.

U.S. stocks are headed for a higher open, with futures up in pre-market activity. At 6:40 a.m. ET, futures tied to the broad S&P 500 index rose 0.66%, while blue-chip Dow futures jumped 0.44%. Tech-heavy Nasdaq futures gained 0.