US stock futures inched higher on Thursday, building on a modest rebound in the previous session as a sharp pullback in Treasury yields lifted investor sentiment. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 gained 0.22% and 0.21%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.16%, with all three major indexes breaking a three-day losing streak.
Consumer discretionary, materials, and consumer staples shares outperformed the broader market, whereas industrials, technology, and financials lagged. Yields on longer-dated US Treasurys retreated from multi-year highs after the US government announced plans to more than double its buybacks of 10-, 20-, and 30-year securities in the coming months. That announcement followed a surge in the 30-year yield to its highest level since 2007 earlier in the week.
Investors are now focusing on upcoming earnings from retail heavyweight Walmart later in the global trading day, as well as the latest weekly initial jobless claims report.
