U.S. index futures show a mixed trend in pre-market trading this Thursday, with technology stocks making a partial recovery after the Nasdaq experienced its worst session since 2022 the previous day.
At 5:07 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell 30 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.28%, and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.58%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.184%.
In the commodities market, oil prices rose following an unexpectedly large decline in U.S. crude oil inventories, indicating strong demand. Analysts see this as a sign of robust demand in the U.S., which could intensify if the Fed and European banks cut interest rates, further stimulating economic growth.
West Texas Intermediate crude for August rose 0.35%, to $83.14 per barrel. Brent crude for September climbed 0.05%, near $85.12 per barrel. The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.9%, to $111.86 per metric ton.
On the U.S. economic calendar for Thursday, jobless claims for the week ending last Saturday will be published at 8:30 AM by the Labor Department. Simultaneously, the Philadelphia Fed’s July manufacturing index will be released. At 10:00 AM, June existing home sales will be published by the Commerce Department.
Asia-Pacific markets had a mixed performance, predominantly falling due to new U.S. export restrictions and geopolitical tensions exacerbated by statements from Donald Trump.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell significantly by 2.36%, and the Topix also dropped 1.6%. Semiconductor-related companies, such as Tokyo Electron and Advantest, saw sharp declines of 8% and 5%, respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.27%. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.67%, and the small-cap Kosdaq also closed down 0.84%. TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, saw its shares fall more than 2.43%, contributing to the 1.56% drop in Taiwan’s Weighted Index.
Despite declines in most markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.64%. China’s CSI 300 gained 0.55%, while the Shanghai Composite increased 0.48%. In Japan, exports and imports were below expectations with growths of 5.4% and 3.2%, respectively. The yen strengthened, hitting a six-week high amid suspicions of Tokyo’s intervention. In Australia, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, despite an increase of approximately 50,000 jobs.
European markets show mixed performance as they await the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision. Markets predict the central bank will keep interest rates stable; however, investors are looking for indications on future monetary policy directions. The automotive and oil and gas sectors lead gains, while technology continued to fall. Among individual stocks, Volvo (TG:8JO1) stands out with an 8.4% increase after reporting record profit.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks had a mixed performance, with geopolitical concerns and a profit warning from ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) leaving the mood cautious. The Dow Jones rose 0.59%, the S&P 500 fell 1.39%, while the Nasdaq plummeted 2.77%, impacted by the possibility of stricter U.S. trade rules against China. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 7%. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) dropped 5.6%, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 6.6%, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) plunged more than 10%, and other companies in the sector also closed lower.
The “Magnificent Seven” big tech companies faced a record drop of $1.13 trillion in market capitalization over the past five sessions, reflecting a strong investor exit. Nvidia and others like Meta Platforms led the daily losses, highlighting a continuing market rotation.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that housing starts rose 3.0% and building permits increased 3.4% in June. A separate report from the Federal Reserve indicated that U.S. industrial production increased by 0.6% in June, more than expected.
Regarding quarterly earnings reports on Thursday, TSMC (NYSE:TSM), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Infosys (NYSE:INFY), Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ), Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS), DR Horton (NYSE:DHI), Abbott (NYSE:ABT), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK), and more will report before the market opens.
After the close, numbers are expected from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG), OceanFirst (NASDAQ:OCFC), AAR Corp (NYSE:AIR), Resources Connection (NASDAQ:RGP), SB Financial (NASDAQ:SBFG), Alpine Income Property Trust (NYSE:PINE), Metropolitan Commercial Bank (NYSE:MCB), Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN), among others.