U.S. stock futures are rising on Thursday as investors continue to digest the latest Federal Reserve decision and guidance on interest rates from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. The next major catalyst for markets will come Friday, with the U.S. jobs report for April.
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U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday as investors continued to digest the latest Federal Reserve decision and guidance on interest rates from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. The next major catalyst for markets will come Friday, with the U.S. jobs report for April.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 150 points, or 0.4%, after the index gained 87 points on Wednesday to finish at 37,903. S&P 500 futures gained 0.7% with contracts tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 0.9%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.62%.
Stocks sold off earlier this week amid renewed worries that persistent inflation will see the Fed hold interest rates at a generational high for longer than once thought. But sentiment has steadied since the Fed’s latest rate decision and a press conference with Powell on Wednesday, with the central bank chief describing continued challenges in taming inflation but signaling that no more rate hikes are coming.
“This was—at the margin—a more dovish [Fed] statement,” said Quincy Krosby, a strategist at LPL Financial. “The statement wasn’t as hawkish as market participants anticipated as there wasn’t a hint of a potential rate hike, just a suggestion of remaining higher for perhaps longer than an eager market is comfortable with.”
Traders continue to price in the prospect of multiple rate cuts this year, with odds coalescing around a first cut in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. More macroeconomic catalysts in the coming days could shift the needle on those expectations, however.
“The focus will now shift to Apple results [later] and the non-farm payrolls report for April that is scheduled for Friday,” said Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at broker XTB.
Indeed, Friday’s closely watched U.S. jobs report looms large as the next key macro moment for markets, since tightness in the labor market has been an important element of the inflationary picture. More immediately, corporate earnings season remains in full swing, with Apple among the companies reporting results Thursday.
Carvana, Fastly, Qualcomm, Apple, Novo Nordisk, DoorDash, Zillow, Freshworks, and MoreCarvana, Fastly, Qualcomm, DoorDash, Zillow, Etsy, Freshworks, Apple, and More
Carvana posts a surprise first-quarter profit, while Fastly stock sinks after the company issues guidance well below Wall Street estimates. Apple is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter earnings after the closing bell Thursday.
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