The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the steep drop seen in the previous session.
Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following recent weakness on Wall Street, which has seen the Dow and the S&P 500 pull back well of last Friday’s record closing highs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is likely to benefit from a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), as the electric vehicle maker is soaring by 14.2 percent in pre-market trading.
The spike by Tesla comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.
Shares of UPS (NYSE:UPS) are also seeing significant pre-market strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, a slump by shares of IBM (NYSE:IBM) may limit any upside for the Dow, with the tech giant tumbling by 3.1 percent in pre-market trading after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.
Fellow Dow component Boeing (NYSE:BA) may also come under pressure after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.
Nonetheless, the broader markets may benefit from a pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after reaching its highest levels in almost three months.
Stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday and saw further downside over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the Dow and the S&P 500 extending their losing streaks to three days.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels late in the session but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 409.94 points or 1.0 percent to 42,514.95, the Nasdaq tumbled 296.47 points or 1.6 percent to 18,276.65 and the S&P 500 slid 53.78 points or 0.9 percent to 5,797.42.
The weakness on Wall Street came amid a continued increase by treasury yields, which have moved sharply higher over the past few sessions.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has risen to its highest level in almost three months amid worries the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates slower than previously anticipated.
While the Fed is still widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter point next month, there is increasing skepticism about another rate cut in December.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool suggests the chances the Fed will leave rates unchanged in December have jumped to 30.2 percent from just 13.9 percent a week ago.
A steep drop by shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) also weighed on the Dow, with the fast food giant plunging by 5.1 percent.
McDonald’s came under pressure after the Center for Disease Control said a severe E. coli outbreak in Mountain West states has been linked to the chain’s Quarter Pounders.
Fellow Dow component Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) also showed a notable move to the downside despite reporting better than expected third quarter results.
Meanwhile, shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) surged after the telecom giant reported third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 2.2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
A pullback by the price of gold also contributed to considerable weakness among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Oil service stocks also saw significant weakness amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.4 percent.
Steel, biotechnology and semiconductor stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while airline stocks bucked the downtrend.
Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) led the sector higher, soaring by 46 percent after a report from the Wall Street Journal said Frontier Airlines is exploring a renewed bid for the budget airline.