Here are the top stories to read ahead of Thursday trading:
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Stocks making notable moves in Thursday’s premarket action:
Moderna shares are sliding 7% after the biotech company said it will rein in its research-and-development spending and trim its pipeline as it looks to shake off the doldrums of a dwindling COVID vaccine market.
Medical Properties Trust stock is up more than 4%% after it reached a deal with Steward Health Care System that restores the trust’s control over its real estate and facilitates the immediate transition of operations at 15 of its hospitals around the country.
Oxford Industries shares are down 10% after the owner of Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Johnny Was posted lower profit and revenue in the second quarter, prompting the retailer to cut its full-year outlook.
Micron Technology stock is dipping nearly 3% after shares of the chip company were downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas and the price target was reduced to $67 from $140.
Here are some of the companies presenting earnings on Thursday.
Before the opening bell:
Kroger
Signet Jewelers
Caleres
After the close:
Here are some of the potential market catalysts due Thursday for traders to consider:
8:15 a.m. Eastern. European Central Bank monetary policy decision.
8:30 a.m. U.S. weekly initial jobless claims.
8:30 a.m. U.S. producer price index for August.
8:45 a.m. ECB President Lagarde begins press conference.
1:00 p.m. Treasury publishes results of a $22 billion auction of 30-year bonds.
2:00 p.m. Monthly U.S. federal budget report.
How are stock-index futures trading:
S&P 500 futures are up 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are gaining 0.2%.
Nasdaq 100 futures are adding 0.3%.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 125 points, or 0.31%, to 40,862, the S&P 500 increased 59 points, or 1.07%, to 5,554, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 370 points, or 2.17%, to 17,396.
Futures indicate stocks will start Thursday on the front foot as traders eye producer prices and jobless claims data due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
The positive tone continues after equities sharply reversed initial losses on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 turning a roughly 1% retreat into a similar gain by the close.
The turnaround came as traders shrugged off a slightly hotter-than-expected inflation reading that all but removed the chances of a 50 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week, and came to accept that a 25 basis point reduction was adequate.
The rebound was “led mostly by a resurgence of buying in mega cap technology stocks,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
“Nvidia shares rose by more than 8%, while there were gains of between 2% and 3% for the likes of Microsoft and Amazon. Elsewhere, there was also some interest in the banking sector, which for the most part finished ahead after a shaky start to the trading session.,” he added.
