Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 10, 2024 in New York City. As new inflation data released today showed a continued rise, stocks fell across the board with the Dow falling over 400 points.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures flickered near the flatline on Thursday night as traders looked ahead to the release of corporate earnings from major U.S. banks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 48 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed.
The muted action follows a sharp rebound for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite as tech shares led a comeback from Wednesday’s inflation-fueled sell-off. On Thursday, Nasdaq gained 1.68% to close at a record, while the S&P 500 gained 0.74%. The 30-stock Dow inched lower by 0.01%, posting its fourth straight losing day.
Apple was among the Magnificent Seven names rallying Thursday. The iPhone maker jumped 4.3% after Bloomberg News reported the iPhone maker’s plans to overhaul its Mac products with new artificial intelligence focused chips. Apple had its best day since May 2023.
AI-darling Nvidia also popped 4.1%, and Amazon leapt to an all-time high before closing with a 1.7% advance.
Going forward, the artificial intelligence tailwind will be key in determining which stocks lead the current bull run, said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.
“Today’s divergence between the Nasdaq and the Dow is pretty telling … it is still a bifurcated market with things being driven by AI.” he told CNBC. “That’s what you’re looking for going forward, that’s what you have to have to be sustainable.”
Thursday’s tech-centric rally curtailed the S&P 500’s weekly losses, as it’s now down 0.1% for the period. The Nasdaq is on pace to close the week 1.2% higher. The Dow is the underperformer, pacing for a 1.1% decline week to date.
The first-quarter earnings season kicks off in earnest Friday, with a slew of major U.S. financial institutions set to report earnings before the bell. These include JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, BlackRock and State Street.
Globe Life stock bounces after large selloff on Thursday
Shares of Globe Life bounced back 11% in Thursday’s extended trading hours. The stock sold off hard during Thursday’s session, ending the day 53% lower, after a report from short-seller Fuzzy Panda Research alleged multiple occurrences of insurance fraud.
“We uncovered extensive allegations of insurance fraud ignored by management despite being obvious and reported hundreds of times,” the research firm wrote. It also noted that the organization’s structure is a multi-level-marketing strategy that borders on a pyramid scheme.
In the same report, Fuzzy Panda Research also disclosed that it had taken a short position in the life insurance stock.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures are unchanged
Stock futures traded near flat on Thursday night.
Futures tied to all three major indexes were trading unchanged shortly after 6 p.m. ET.
— Lisa Kailai Han
