Stock futures slipped Thursday after the major averages posted a second straight winning day. Futures linked to the S&P 500
were down 0.1%, along with Nasdaq-100 futures. The major averages posted strong gains on Wednesday, rising more than 1% each. That said, they finished the day well off their highs. At one point on Wednesday, the Dow was up more than 1,100 points. Stocks seemed to get a lift on hopes that trade tensions between the U.S. and China would ease. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he is willing to take a less confrontational approach toward trade talks with Beijing. Further, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the U.S. has the “opportunity for a big deal” on trade. Chinese imports are subject to a U.S. tariff of 145%. “While it’s encouraging to hear a more dovish tone on tariffs from the administration, stocks remain range-bound for the time being, as the ultimate goal for markets is either a reversal of the tariffs or significant trade deals,” said Gaurav Mallik, chief investment officer of Massachusetts-based Pallas Capital Advisors. “It can take a few months for corrections to end, and we still believe that this is a correction given the speed of the declines.” However, China said overnight that there were no trade talks taking place with the U.S., calling for the cancelation of “unilateral” tariffs. In addition, Trump said late Tuesday that he has “no intention” of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chair will end in May 2026. This seemed to boost sentiment in the market, particularly as the relationship between Trump and Powell has been growing more tense in recent days. Earlier this week, the president called Powell a “major loser.” All three of the major averages are on pace for weekly gains, with the Nasdaq up 2.6% and the S&P 500 up nearly 1.8%. The Dow is on pace for a 1.2% advance in the period. International Business Machines
slumped more than 7%. The company posted better-than-anticipated earnings and revenue for the first quarter, but maintained its full-year guidance. Southwest Airlines lost 4% after the company said it plans to cut its schedule in the second half of this year and pulled its guidance for earnings before interest and taxes in 2025 and 2026. On Thursday, investors will look for quarterly earnings reports from Alphabet, Intel and PepsiCo. On the economic data front, durable gods orders and weekly jobless claims are due in the morning. Dow Jones IndustrTreasury yields declined on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that high tariffs on China may be coming down, and backtracked plans to fire the Federal Reserve chief. At 5:30 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was down over 3 basis points at 4.349%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was down nearly 3 basis points at 3.832%. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as a possible thaw in U.S.-China trade war fuels investor optimism. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.49% to close at 35,039.15, extending the previous day’s gains. The Topix added 0.32% to end at 2,592.56. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.13% to close at 2,522.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to close at 7,968.2. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.29% while mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat to end the trading day at 3,784.36. Oil prices ticked up early on Thursday after falling nearly 2% in the previous session, with investors weighing a potential OPEC+ output increase against conflicting tariff signals from the White House and ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. Brent crude futures rose 66 cents, or 1%, to $66.78 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 75 cents, or 1.2%, to $63.02 a barrel. Gold prices rebounded on Thursday as investors bought bullion following a sharp decline in the previous session, while focus still remained on U.S.-China trade tensions. Spot gold was up 1.6% to $3,340.79 an ounce. Bullion lost over 3% on Wednesday, in its worst daily performance since late November. U.S. gold futures gained 1.8% to $3,352.10. “Gold’s pullback earlier has cleared some of the froth from its latest surge. That in turn attracted some buy-the-dip action, amid still-persistent global trade war fears,” said Han Tan, Exinity Group’s chief market analyst. “Given the still-evident tailwinds for this precious metal, gold bugs could ultimately conquer the $3,500 level with conviction.” Non-yielding bullion, traditionally seen as a hedge against global instability, has risen over 27% so far this year.