After yesterday’s sell-off in the tech sector, the stock market anticipates an upward movement in early trading on Thursday. Major index futures hint at a positive opening, with S&P 500 futures rising by 0.2 percent.
Investors might seek to acquire tech stocks at lower prices following Wednesday’s sharp decline, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq recorded its worst day since December 2022.
Optimism regarding interest rates could also stimulate early buying interest, given the Labor Department's report showing a significant rise in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits for the week ending July 13th.
The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims increased to 243,000, up 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000.
Economists had predicted an uptick in initial jobless claims to 230,000 from the originally reported 222,000 for the preceding week.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s report indicated much stronger-than-expected growth in July.
The Philly Fed’s diffusion index for current general activity surged to 13.9 in July from 1.3 in June, with positive readings indicating growth. Economists had forecasted the index to rise slightly to 2.9.
The report also noted increases in most future activity indicators, suggesting broader expectations for overall growth in the next six months.
U.S. stock indexes showed mixed results on Wednesday due to geopolitical tensions and a profit warning from Dutch semiconductor company ASML, which led to a cautious sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved to a new record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a significant drop.
The Dow rose by 243.60 points or 0.6 percent, closing at 41,198.08. The S&P 500 dropped by 78.93 points or 1.4 percent, ending at 5,588.27, and the Nasdaq plummeted 512.42 points or 2.8 percent to 17,996.92.
Internationally, the Asia-Pacific stock markets presented mixed results during Thursday's trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 2.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index increased by 0.5 percent.
Conversely, major European markets experienced gains. The French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, and Germany’s DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures edged down by $0.14 to $82.71 a barrel after surging $2.09 to $82.85 a barrel on Wednesday. Gold futures, having slipped $7.90 to $2,459.90 an ounce in the previous session, are climbing $12.20 to $2,472.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar traded at 156.44 yen, slightly higher than the 156.20 yen at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar was valued at $1.0929, down from $1.0939 the previous day.
