Stock futures advanced Thursday as investors looked ahead to more corporate earnings and a key labor data set for later in the week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 124 points, or 0.33%. S&P 500 futures climbed about 0.6%. Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.8%.
In after-hours trading, chipmaker Qualcomm rose more than 3% on better-than-expected adjusted earnings and strong revenue guidance. Restaurant delivery service DoorDash dropped 15% after reporting a wider loss per share than Wall Street forecast. Used-car retailer Carvana soared nearly 40% after reporting best-ever earnings after the bell Wednesday.
Those moves followed a choppy day on Wall Street as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. In the closely-watched press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell essentially ruled out an interest rate hike as the central bank’s next move, despite few recent signs of easing inflation.
All three major stock indexes leapt by more than 1% at their highs of the day, but they cooled considerably by the close of Wednesday’s bumpy session. The Dow finished about 0.2% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed the session lower by roughly 0.3%.
Powell’s emphasis on the next central bank move likely not being a hike “should be soothing for financial markets,” according to Eric Winograd, director of developed market economic research at AllianceBernstein. Still, when the Fed might actually begin lowering borrowing costs remains uncertain, a question that has been top of mind for traders.
“‘Higher for longer’ is the Fed’s mantra,” Winograd said. “We are past the ‘higher’ part and into the ‘longer,’ unless something dramatic changes.”
Traders still expect a rate cut won’t come until at least September, according to the latest futures market pricing as measured the CME Group.
Investors will watch Thursday for economic data on weekly jobless claims, first-quarter worker productivity and unit labor costs, as well as March figures on the trade deficit and factory orders. Those releases all come ahead of Friday’s closely watched April jobs report.
Thursday’s quarterly earnings reports are dominated by Apple and Amgen after the close, alongside Coinbase and DraftKings. Before the market opens, Moderna and Peloton are both scheduled to post results.