U.S. index futures are rising in pre-market trading on Thursday, following four consecutive days of losses for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
As of 6:27 AM, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (DOWI:DJI) were up 68 points, or 0.18%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.20%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.25%. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.573%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for May fell 1.00%, to $81.86 per barrel. Brent crude for June dropped 1.04%, near $86.38 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange rose 3.07%, to $120.73 per metric ton.
On the U.S. economic calendar for Thursday, the highlight is the release of unemployment insurance claims for the week ending last Saturday, scheduled for 8:30 AM by the Department of Labor. Simultaneously, the April industrial activity index will be published by the Philadelphia Fed. Later, at 10 AM, the Conference Board will release the March leading indicators index, followed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) releasing sales data for used residential properties for the same month.
European markets are showing positive performance, driven by a series of robust corporate results, which are mitigating the effects of recent declines in electric car sales across the European Union, which fell more than 11% last month. According to recent data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), there was a 5.2% reduction in new vehicle registrations in March, marking the first decline of the year, with sales approaching one million units.
Asian markets ended positively, overcoming a recent history of declines, driven by bargain hunting. South Korea’s Kospi led the gains with a rise of 1.95% in Seoul, after four sessions of losses, while Japan’s Nikkei grew 0.31% in Tokyo, breaking a three-day losing streak. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Taiwan’s Taiex also posted increases of 0.82% and 0.43%, respectively, despite Wall Street’s weak performance the day before.
U.S. stocks had a volatile session on Wednesday, ending lower. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 marked the fourth consecutive day of losses, reaching their lowest closing levels in nearly two months. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones saw a modest decline. The performance was impacted by a downturn in the technology sector, especially following disappointing results from ASML (NASDAQ:ASML), which pressured semiconductor stocks. Additionally, concerns about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy contributed to market tension.
On the quarterly earnings front, scheduled to present reports before trading begins are Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV), DR Horton (NYSE:DHI), Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK), Infosys (NYSE:INFY), Texas Capital Bank (NASDAQ:TCBI), among others.
After the close, earnings from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG), Western Alliance (NYSE:WAL), Metropolitan Commercial Bank (NYSE:MCB), Alpine Income Property Trust (NYSE:PINE), Banco Latino-Americano de Exportações (NYSE:BLX), SB Financial (NASDAQ:SBFG), Provident Financial Group (NYSE:PFS), and more are awaited.