Stock futures nudged higher Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest commentary that future rate hikes are not out of the picture. Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.3%. Nasdaq-100 futures ticked up 0.4%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 50 points, or 0.1%. Retail giant Walmart inched higher in premarket trading after reporting an earnings and revenue beat in the fiscal second quarter. The company also raised its full-year guidance and underscored strength in grocery and online sales. Computer networking company Cisco Systems also gained 2% before the bell on a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report. Meanwhile, EV chipmaker Wolfspeed plunged 17% after posting its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results, which missed expectations on the bottom line. The moves follow a second consecutive losing session for the three major averages. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.76%, while the Dow shed 0.52%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.15%. Markets reflected investors’ concerns after officials said in the central bank’s July meeting minutes that additional tightening may be necessary to bring down inflation. The federal funds rate is currently in a range between 5.25% to 5.5%. Stocks have been suffering through a rocky August, with the major averages well in negative territory for the month. Valuations are coming down from their lofty heights. “The market and the sectors are losing their momentum,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “Because it’s losing its momentum, the valuations are becoming less and less extreme, and I think a lot of investors continue to look to the fourth quarter as to the end of this earnings recession.” Jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 12 fell from the previous period and came in slightly under the Dow Jones estimate. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve also reported an uptick in its manufacturing index in August. Investors will watch Thursday for a fresh batch of corporate earnings. Ross Stores, Applied Materials and Keysight Technologies are scheduled to report quarterly results after the close. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July minutes showed inflation concerns lingered, which could lead to more rate hikes. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading near the flatline, while on mainland China, the CSI 300 inched up 0.33% to 3,831.1. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.68% to end at 7,146, its lowest level in over a month, as the country’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7% in July. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.44% to end at 31,626, its lowest level since June and the Topix closed 0.34% lower at 2,253.06. The country saw its trade balance slip into a deficit in July from a surplus in June. South Korea’ Kospi was down 0.23% to end at 2,519.85 and record its fifth straight day of losses, but the Kosdaq bucked the wider trend and gained 0.88% to 886.04. Oil prices fell in early trade on Thursday, extending losses to a fourth consecutive session on fears of slowing growth in China and possible further U.S. interest rate hikes weakening fuel demand in the world’s two biggest economies. Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.44%, to $83.08 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude  was down 39 cents, or 0.49%, to $78.99 a barrel at 0038 GMT. Gold prices touched five-month lows on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields gained momentum after recent upbeat economic data added weight to expectations that the Federal Reserve would carry on with its policy tightening. Spot gold held its ground at $1,893 an ounce, as of 0335 GMT, having dropped to its weakest level since March 15 at $1,888.30. U.S. gold futures shed 0.3% to $1,922.60.