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U.S. stock futures on Thursday were signaling that fresh Wall Street records could be set, helped by a positive report from a leading technology company in what’s been a strong quarter of corporate earnings.
What’s happening
-
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.15%
rose 53 points, or 0.2%, 35920 -
Futures on the S&P 500
ES00,
+0.28%
gained 0.3%, or 13 points, to 4699 -
Futures on the Nasdaq 100
NQ00,
+0.50%
added 0.5%, or 78 points, to 16390
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
fell 211 points, or 0.58%, to 35931, the S&P 500
SPX,
declined 12 points, or 0.26%, to 4689, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
dropped 52 points, or 0.33%, to 15922. The S&P 500 ended just 0.3% away from its record high, and the Nasdaq Composite was just 0.4% away from a new record.
What’s driving markets
A strong quarter from graphics chipmaker Nvidia
NVDA,
which recorded a 50% jump in revenue, helped to buoy sentiment. Corporate earnings have beaten Wall Street estimates, as strong demand has helped to offset the pressure from supply-chain disruptions.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said late Wednesday that the disruptions have lasted longer than he anticipated, though he still expects the central bank to end its bond-buying program in the middle of 2022 as currently anticipated. Markets will be highly tuned into any signals on who President Joe Biden will pick to chair the Fed.
“Stock markets have been resilient all year; they have looked through upside surprises in inflation, downside surprises in growth, and a dramatic change in central bank pricing,” said strategists at Barclays led by Ajay Rajadhyaksha. The Barclays strategists see limited upside to U.S. equities but also don’t exxpect a major selloff, as there’s significant downside hedging.
Economics data for Thursday includes weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing report.
