U.S. stock futures moved higher ahead of the open Thursday, boosted by mega-cap tech stocks, pointing to a possible turnaround for the indexes.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.7%, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 0.6%. Contracts on the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose by 1.1%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticked down 3.59% Thursday morning. The dollar index weakened on Thursday against the euro, trading at $102.85.
Stocks closed lower Wednesday following recent Fed officials speeches, signaling that more interest rate hikes are likely to continue and could remain elevated for a longer period.
Some of the standout commentary came from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who said that an effort to reach the central bank’s 2% target “might be a long fight.” Meanwhile, New York Fed President John Williams hinted that more hikes may be needed as interest rates were “barely in restrictive territory.”
Before the bell, investors will gain more insight on the labor front with the release of another data point on jobless claims. Claims are expected to come in at 190,000 for the week ended February 4, higher from the week before of 183,000.
In specific stock moves, shares of Disney (DIS) rose over 6% Thursday morning after the company reported an earnings beat and revealed new restructuring plans that include eliminating 7,000 jobs from its workforce and trimming $5.5 billion in costs.
The world’s largest entertainment company delivered an adjusted earnings per share of $0.99, higher than the Street’s estimates of $0.74 cents per share. Disney lost 2.4 million streaming subscribers. Revenue jumped to $23.5 billion against forecasts of $23.4 billion.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares added 1% Thursday morning after the Google parent unveiled a batch of new AI-powered features for its Search, Maps, and Lens apps.
Affirm (AFRM) stock sank 19% in premarket trading after the company announced a 19% reduction of its staff. The move comes as the buy-now-pay-later company posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss per share. Revenue came in at $399.6 million against estimates of $146.9 million.
Robinhood (HOOD) shares rose 5% after the company reported quarterly results that came in below expectations as revenue reached $380 million, against $389 million analysts forecasts.
Tesla (TSLA) shares climbed 3% Thursday morning following a government report that found the fatal Tesla crash in 2021 was caused by excessive speed, not by Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance features.
PepsiCo (PEP) shares rose 1% before the opening bell after the snacks and drink giant posted an earnings beat, with earnings per share of $1.67 compared to $1.65 expected by analysts. Revenue came in at $28 billion, against $26.84 billion forecasted.
More earning results on deck for Thursday include Kellogg (K), Lyft (LYFT), and PayPal (PYPL).
In corporate news, JPMorgan also joined the slew of companies making a shift in its workforce. The bank reported laying off hundreds of mortgage employees, while looking to add 500 small-business roles in the next two years.
Looking ahead, investors will be preparing for Tuesday’s CPI print, “given a dearth of catalytic information this week,” Andrew Tyler, US Market Intelligence team at JP Morgan, wrote in a note to clients. As a result, “We may be in store for a choppy next few trading sessions as, in 2022, bond [volume] tended to its largest increases around both the CPI and Fed Days.”
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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv
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