U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday following Wednesday’s mixed close. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher.
Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 24 arrived at 209,000, slightly higher than forecasts but reflecting stable labor conditions. Simultaneously, a delayed November report revealed the U.S. trade deficit surged nearly 95% to $56.8 billion, driven by a sharp drop in exports and a rise in imports.
Offsetting these concerns, revised third-quarter productivity for the nonfarm business sector showed a robust 4.9% increase, as a strong 5.4% rise in output outpaced a minimal increase in hours worked.
The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5%–3.75% on Wednesday, putting its easing cycle on hold after three rate cuts last year that brought borrowing costs to their lowest since 2022.
Meanwhile, during the press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell declined to engage with political criticism related to ongoing legal scrutiny of the central bank, reiterating that he does not respond to comments from other officials. “We will continue to make our decisions meeting by meeting… letting the data light the way for us,” he added.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.26%, and the two-year bond was at 3.58%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 86.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
Index
Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones
0.03%
S&P 500
0.15%
Nasdaq 100
0.03%
Russell 2000
0.24%
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.19% at $696.73, while the QQQ advanced 0.046% to $633.51.
Stocks In Focus
Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 5.77% in premarket on Thursday despite reporting better-than-expected second-quarter financial results after market close on Wednesday. However, MSFT’s remaining performance obligations (RPO), or the value of contracts ...
