U.S. stock futures indicate a weaker start to Thursday’s session, with equities poised to retreat after the gains recorded a day earlier.
A key drag on sentiment is Walmart (NYSE:WMT). Although the retailer delivered fourth-quarter results that topped expectations, its earnings outlook for the year ahead fell short of forecasts, dampening investor enthusiasm.
Concerns over rising crude prices have also weighed on risk appetite, as oil continues to climb amid fears of a possible military confrontation between the United States and Iran.
That said, futures trimmed part of their losses after fresh data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims dropped more sharply than anticipated in the week ended February 14.
On Wednesday, stocks rallied strongly at the open before paring some of those advances later in the session. Despite pulling back from intraday highs, the major indices finished solidly higher.
Building on Tuesday’s modest gains, the Nasdaq rose 175.25 points, or 0.8%, to 22,753.63. The S&P 500 added 38.09 points, or 0.6%, to 6,881.31, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 129.47 points, or 0.3%, to 49,662.66.
Early strength was fueled in part by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which surged after unveiling a multi-year, multi-generational strategic alliance with Meta (NASDAQ:META), covering on-premises systems, cloud platforms and AI infrastructure.
Nvidia said the agreement will facilitate large-scale deployment of its CPUs along with millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs.
Although the stock initially jumped as much as 2.9%, it later pulled back but still ended the session up 1.6%.
Micron (NASDAQ:MU) also posted a notable gain, rising 5.3% after reports that David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management boosted its stake in the chipmaker by 200%.
Investor confidence was further supported by encouraging economic data. A Federal Reserve report showed industrial production in January increased more than economists had projected.
However, the release of minutes from the Fed’s most recent policy meeting cooled some of the enthusiasm, as they highlighted differing views among policymakers regarding the future direction of interest rates.
According to the minutes from the January 27–28 meeting, several officials believed additional rate cuts would likely be warranted if inflation continues to ease in line with expectations.
Others argued it may be appropriate to keep rates steady for “some time” while the central bank evaluates incoming data more carefully.
The Fed noted that a number of participants felt further easing might not be justified until there is clear evidence that disinflation is firmly back on track.
Additionally, several policymakers favored describing the outlook as two-sided, signaling that rate hikes could be considered if inflation remains above target.
Sector performance reflected movements in commodity prices. Oil service companies were among the top performers as crude prices surged, pushing the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up 2.7%.
Gold miners also benefited from a sharp rally in bullion, lifting the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index by 2.5%.
Energy producers, financial stocks and transportation shares also advanced, while rate-sensitive sectors such as utilities and commercial real estate underperformed.