Stock futures advanced Thursday as investors looked ahead to more corporate earnings and a key labor report set for later in the week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 222 points, or 0.59%. S&P 500 futures climbed about 0.78%. Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.9%.
In after-hours trading, chipmaker Qualcomm rose more than 6% on better-than-expected adjusted earnings and strong revenue guidance. Restaurant delivery service DoorDash dropped 11% after reporting a wider loss per share than Wall Street forecast. Used-car retailer Carvana soared 38% 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 DraftKingsU.S. Treasury yields nudged higher on Thursday as investors digested the outcome of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, as well as the latest economic data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by three basis points to 4.622%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.941%, little changed on the session. Asia-Pacific stock markets were mixed on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains in Asia, with a 2.4% jump. The Hang Seng Tech index surged 4.4% after Chinese EV makers rose following April vehicle delivery updates. Mainland China markets remained closed for the Labor Day holiday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.1% lower at 38,236.07, while the broader Topix ended flat at 2,728.53. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.23% to close at 7,587.00. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.31% to close at 2,683.65, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq fell 0.17% to end at 867.48. Investors parsed consumer prices data from South Korea, which showed a slower rise in April from March. U.S. crude oil edged higher on Thursday after selling off to a seven-week low on a surge in petroleum inventories on softening demand. West Texas Intermediate June contract: $79.40 a barrel, up 39 cents, or 0.49%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is 10.8%. Brent July contract: $83.96 a barrel, up 52 cents, or 0.62%. Year to date, the global benchmark is up 9%. Gold prices fell on Thursday as investors assessed the prospects of monetary policy easing in the U.S. this year, as the Federal Reserve indicated that the progress on inflation has stalled and interest rates would stay higher for longer. Spot gold fell 0.7% at $2,301.15 per ounce by 0943 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $2,310.30.