Stock futures are little changed Thursday morning ahead of the release of closely watched economic data, as the market looks to extend a rally that has lifted major indexes to record highs.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were fractionally higher in recent trading. Stocks are coming off a winning session on Wednesday, when the benchmark S&P 500 closed at a record high for the second straight day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at a record for the fourth time in the last five sessions. The Dow is just 0.2% away from its first new high since December.
Stocks got a boost this week from consumer price data that showed inflation held steady in July, news that reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve will be in a position to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting in September. Investors will be keeping close tabs on reports set to be released this morning on wholesale inflation and weekly jobless claims. The Fed is monitoring data—in particular numbers on inflation and the labor market—to determine how tariffs are affecting the economy before adjusting rates.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have an outsized influence on the broader market, were mostly higher in premarket trading, though the moves were small. Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Tesla (TSLA) each rose less than 0.5%, while Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) ticked lower.
Among the big movers this morning, Deere (DE) shares dropped about 6% after the agricultural machinery maker released its quarterly results, while Coach parent Tapestry (TPR) tumbled more than 11% after a disappointing earnings report.
Bitcoin was trading at $120,900 recently, after surging to a record high overnight of $124,500. The digital currency surpassed its previous high of $123,200 set about a month ago.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was holding steady at 98.41, near a three-week low.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on a wide array of consumer and business loans, was at 4.20% this morning, down from 4.24% late Wednesday. The yield fell as low as 4.18% last week, its lowest level since early May, as market expectations for interest rate cuts by the Fed increased after a weak July jobs report.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.5% to $63 per barrel, stabilizing after a two-week slump that has taken prices to their lowest levels since early June. Gold futures were down 0.1% at $3,405 an ounce.