The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to add to the gains posted in the previous session.
The futures edged higher following the release of closely watched readings on U.S. consumer price inflation in the month of August.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index inched up by 0.1 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July. The uptick matched expectations.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index slowed to 2.2 percent in August from 2.5 percent in July. Economists had expected the pace of growth to slow to 2.3 percent.
The slightly bigger than expected slowdown by annual price growth may generate optimism the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates in the coming months.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index also edged up by 0.1 percent in August after increasing by 0.2 percent in July. Core prices were expected to rise by another 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said the annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index accelerated to 2.7 percent in August from 2.6 percent in July, in line with estimates.
The readings on inflation, which are said to be preferred by the Fed, were included in the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending.
Following the pullback seen during Wednesday’s session, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Thursday. The major averages gave back ground after an early rally but managed to end the day firmly into positive territory.
The S&P 500 rose 23.11 points or 0.4 percent to a new record closing high of 5,745.37, the Dow advanced 260.36 points or 0.6 percent to 42,175.11 and the Nasdaq climbed 108.09 points or 0.6 percent to 18,190.29.
The early rally on Wall Street partly reflected strength in the tech sector, with chipmaker Micron (NASDAQ:MU) helping lead the way higher.
Shares of Micron spiked by 14.7 percent after the company reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and provided strong fiscal first quarter revenue guidance.
Stocks also benefited from the release of upbeat U.S. economic data, with a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended September 21st.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 222,000.
The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.
The Commerce Department also released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods were virtually unchanged in the month of August.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders came in flat in August after soaring by 9.9 percent in July. Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 2.6 percent.
Excluding a decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
Airline stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5.3 percent to its best closing level in over three months.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) helped lead the sector higher, surging by 5.4 percent after raising its third quarter revenue guidance and announcing a new share repurchase program.
Semiconductor stocks also saw substantial strength following the upbeat news from Micron, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.5 percent.
Computer hardware, steel and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable strength, while energy stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil.