S&P 500 futures edged higher Thursday morning as investors parsed data indicating continued economic growth and the latest corporate earnings reports. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 29 points, or 0.1%. Tesla slumped nearly 9% in the premarket after the electric vehicle maker posted disappointing fourth-quarter results and warned of lower vehicle volume growth for 2024. Shares of IBM soared more than 6% after the technology company posted adjusted earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ predictions. Multiple airline stocks moved in premarket trading in response to their respective financial releases. American gained more than 4%, while Southwest and Alaska advanced more than 1%. More than 16% of S&P 500 companies that have reported financials this earnings season, according to FactSet. About seven out of every 10 of those have surpassed Wall Street expectations, FactSet data shows. The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 3.3% in the fourth quarter, gross domestic product data shows. That’s much higher than the 2% expectation from economists polled by Dow Jones. Wall Street is coming off a mixed session, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rising for a fifth straight day thanks to a post-earnings surge in Netflix. The Dow, meanwhile, dipped 0.3%. Treasury yields fell on Thursday after a report showed faster than expected economic growth in the fourth quarter failed to push inflation higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped 5 basis points to 4.13%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury note dipped 3basis points to 4.35%. China and Hong Kong stocks led gains in Asia-Pacific markets Thursday after the People’s Bank of China said it would cut reserve requirements for the country’s lenders. Property stocks also jumped on the central bank’s measures that would help boost the liquidity available to developers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index index jumped 1.8%, while China’s CSI 300 closed 2% higher at 3,342.92. The CSI property index jumped 5.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties index rose as much as 3.9%. China’s Shenzhen Composite index ended 2% up at 8,856.22. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed flat at 36,236.47 and the broad based Topix ended 0.11% higher at 2,531.92, while South Korea’s Kospi held flat at 2,470.34 and the small-cap Kosdaq shed 1.49% to close at 823.74. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.48% higher at 7,555.40. Oil prices gained steam Thursday on stronger than expected U.S. economic growth, stimulus in China and falling domestic crude stockpiles. The West Texas Intermediate contract for March rose $1.03, or 1.37%, to trade at $76.12 a barrel Thursday morning. The Brent contract for March gained 99 cents, or 1.24%, to trade at $81.03 a barrel. Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, helped by a slight pullback in the dollar, while investors awaited more U.S. economic data and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policy decision. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,017.39 per ounce by 1040 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,018.10.
Roodeweg 222, Willemstad, Curaçao