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At 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 90 points or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 11 points or 0.3% lower, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 10 points or 0.1%.
The main indices closed lower Wednesday after the U.S. central bank tightened monetary policy once more, lifting its benchmark interest rate by a further 25 basis points.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 270 points or 0.8% lower, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%.
This was the tenth-straight hike in borrowing costs for the Fed, but most of the focus was on the subsequent comments from Chair Jerome Powell, who indicated that the policymakers were much closer to the end of the tightening cycle than the beginning.
With economic growth showing signs of sputtering and a credit crunch threatening regional banks, the majority of investors are now looking for the Fed to pause its campaign of rate rises in June.
There were further signs of the difficulties a number of the smaller regional banks are currently having after the close Wednesday when Beverly Hills-based PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) stated that it is taking part in ongoing discussions with “several potential partners and investors” in a bid to secure a financial lifeline.
PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) stock slumped over 40% in premarket trading.
Additionally, the lenders First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) and TD Bank (TSX:TD) agreed to terminate a merger that was announced in early 2022, with TD having to pay First Horizon $200 million as a result.
The weekly unemployment claims are due later in the session and are expected to point to a cooling labor market ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls release.
In the corporate sector, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is due to release its latest numbers after the close. While the technology giant could report a dip in revenue due to weaker demand for its Mac and iPad products, this could be balanced out by a massive increase in its share buyback program.
Drugmaker Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) is slated to release its results before the opening bell, while the likes of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) are due after the close.
Oil prices rose Thursday, rebounding after a three-day plunge on concerns demand in the world’s major consumers will be hit as interest rate increases stunt economic growth.
U.S. oil inventories continued to shrink, official data from the Energy Information Administration showed, falling just over one million barrels last week.
By 06:55 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% higher at $68.75 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.5% to $72.69.
Both benchmarks were trading down around 7% for the week and were close to their lowest levels since December 2021.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,048.55/oz, while EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.1058.
