Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose on Thursday as Wall Street regained some ground after a slew of optimistic economic data. S&P 500 futures added 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.4%, boosted higher by shares of Micron Technology. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 195 points, or 0.4%. The semiconductor manufacturer was trading 14% higher in extended trading after issuing strong guidance for the current quarter. Results for Micron’s fiscal fourth quarter also topped analysts’ estimates. Fellow semiconductor-linked stocks Applied Materials and Lam Research both rose 4% in sympathy. A series of economic data supported a solid economy, quelling fears that perhaps the Federal Reserve is cutting rates aggressively because of the economy slowing. Weekly jobless claims fell more than expected, pointing to a steady labor market. Durable goods orders for August were unchanged versus economists’ expectations for a decline. And the final reading of second-quarter GDP was unrevised at a strong 3%. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow retreated from their records to close lower on Wednesday. The broad market benchmark lost 0.2%, while the blue-chip average sank 0.7%. Both indexes had hit fresh all-time highs earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend by inching up. Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, pinned some of Wednesday’s volatility on the upcoming presidential election. “What stocks do in the next month is a bit of a coin flip, and I think that’s what we’re seeing, because there’s some repositioning that took place and also we’re now thinking about the 40 days into the election,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday afternoon. “A lot [of investors] don’t want to commit capital until after Election Day. I don’t think it matters who wins; they just want to get that event behind them.” Despite Wednesday’s losses, all three major averages are still tracking to end September higher. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Thursday as investors looked to fresh economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by less than 1 basis point at 3.773%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 3.551%, trading flat on the day. Asia-Pacific markets rose on Thursday, led by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and the mainland Chinese markets which extended gains toward the session close. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 4.12% as of its final hour, reaching its highest level since May, while mainland China’s CSI 300 extended its winning streak to the seventh day, hitting its highest levels in about four months. The index gained 4.23% and closed at 3,545.32. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 2.79% to end at 38,925.63, while the broad based Topix was up 2.66% to 2,721.12, after the Bank of Japan released minutes of its July meeting. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.9% to 2,671.57, powered by gains in chipmaker SK Hynix, which surged 9.44%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 2.62% and ended at 779.18. Australia was 0.95% higher at 8,203.7. U.S. crude oil prices fell nearly 3% on Thursday on a report that Saudi Arabia is committed to pressing ahead with production increases later this year. Saudi is prepared to ditch its unofficial oil price target of $100 per barrel, people familiar with the kingdom’s thinking told The Financial Times. Saudi officials are ready to increase oil production in December even if the move results in a prolonged period of low oil prices, the people said. West Texas Intermediate November contract: $68.15 per barrel, down $1.54, or 2.21%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down about 5%. Brent November contract: $71.86 per barrel, down $1.60, or 2.2%. Year to date, the global benchmark is down nearly 7%. Gold prices rebounded and looked set to scale a fresh peak on Thursday, on mounting expectations for another U.S. interest rate cut this year, while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address later today for more policy cues. Spot gold climbed 0.4% to $2,668.05 per ounce, as of 0913 GMT, a few dollars away from the record $2,670.43 it hit on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% to $2,691.20. “Gold price strength is feeding on itself just now. That’s to say momentum is driving speculative flows despite a rising U.S. dollar and Treasury yields,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.
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