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Stocks looked set to open higher Thursday, while oil prices plummeted after President Donald Trump appeared to play down the chances of U.S. military action in Iran.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 54 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.4% and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.8%.
“Sentiment was rather shaky throughout the day yesterday, though it must be said there was little by way of obvious catalyst to drive the somewhat risk-averse vibe that we saw across the board,” Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said, adding that he sees stocks grinding higher due to a robust economy.
Factors that could move stocks on Thursday include weekly initial jobless claims data and fourth-quarter earnings from investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and asset manager BlackRock. There are also speeches by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid.
Oil prices were sinking on Thursday after Trump signaled that intervention in Iran was becoming less likely. The Brent international benchmark fell 3.3% to $64.36 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate U.S. prices fell 3.3% to $59.87 a barrel. “We have been informed by very important sources on the other side that the killings have stopped and the executions won’t take place,” the president said.
Precious metals prices dropped as investors pivoted away from safe-haven assets. Gold futures fell 0.6% to $4,607 an ounce and silver futures dropped 2.2% to about $89 an ounce.
Ten-year Treasury yields climbed 2 basis points to 4.15%, and the dollar was flat against a weighted basket of its peers.
