U.S. futures inched higher on Thursday morning as traders awaited the release of key economic reports due today. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up about 0.21%, 0.2%, and 0.22%, respectively, at 3.27 a.m. EST, February 15.
The stock market finished higher yesterday with all three indices registering gains. Investors might have perceived Tuesday’s sharp decline as an overreaction to the higher-than-expected January consumer-price index report.
Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, believes that traders should focus on the underlying rationale behind the Federal Reserve’s monetary decision-making process and not just on the timing of the initial rate cut. He said that the Fed’s key concern is the potential for premature rate cuts leading to future hikes, which could negatively impact the ongoing market upswing.
Among key economic reports due for release today are Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending February 10 and January Retail sales data. On the earnings front, Coinbase (COIN), DraftKings (DKNG), Applied Materials (AMAT), Deere (DE), and Trade Desk (TTD) will announce results today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.22%. At the same time, the WTI crude oil futures trended lower, hovering near $76.17 per barrel as of the last check after the U.S. reported higher crude oil inventories for November.
Elsewhere, European indices opened in the green on encouraging corporate earnings reports. However, the UK economy contracted by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023, officially entering a technical recession.
Asia-Pacific Markets End Higher on Thursday
Asia-Pacific indices finished higher on Thursday, erasing most of the previous day’s losses.
Amidst recent economic developments, Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) has declined for two consecutive quarters, indicating a technical recession. Consequently, Germany has surpassed Japan as the world’s third-largest economy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index trended higher by 0.41%. Further, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices closed up by 1.21% and 0.28%, respectively. Chinese stock markets will remain closed this week for the Lunar New Year holiday.
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