US. Futures higher as Wall St.'s post-Christmas rally continues

U.S. stock futures were higher on Friday, extending a two-day rally amid volatile trading and raising expectations that the recent selloff may have eased for now.

The final week of 2018 has seen wild swings in equities. The benchmark S&P 500 tested its 20-month low and was at the brink of a bear market territory early in the week before the three main indexes roared back, with their biggest daily surge in nearly a decade on Wednesday and a late rally the following day.

In a sign of optimism on trade on Friday, China opened the door to imports of rice from the United States for the first time ever in the run-up to talks between the two countries in January.

"With two trading sessions left before year end, the indices are likely to be supported by window dressing and technical factors," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Cardillo expects another round of positive trading, which he says will be supported in part by the news that China is allowing U.S. rice imports ahead of the trade talks.

Despite two days of gains, all three major indexes are still down more than 9 percent for December and remain on track for their biggest annual percentage drop since 2008.

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