Top-Down Or Bottom-Up, Finding Diamonds In The Rough Takes Time This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. (Friday Market Open) Equity index futures are pointing to a higher open as investors hope to build on Thursday’s afternoon rally. The Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX) fell to 28.6 in premarket action as Asian markets rallied off favorable rate news. Potential Market Movers The People’s Bank of China cut a key interest rate on Friday for the second time this year which sparked a rally in Chinese stocks. The Hong Kong Hang Seng rose 2.96%, while the Shanghai exchange rallied 1.6%, and the BSE Sensex climbed 2.91%. China’s neighbors also rose on the news with Japan’s Nikkei gaining 1.27% and Singapore increasing 1.56%. One reason why stocks have struggled to bounce back is because many investors are deleveraging and liquidating positions. Rising rates and market uncertainty has made trading on margin more costly. According to FINRA, margin balances fell by about $50 billion from February to April.