Futures Promise Strong Open



U.S. stock futures rose slightly Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record for the second time this week, and traders awaited the release of fresh economic data.

Futures for the 30-stock index marched ahead 71 points, or 0.2%, to 43,413.

Futures for the S&P 500 hiked 25 points, or 0.4% to 5,912.

Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index jumped 165,5 points, or 0.8%, to 20,513.

Chip stocks popped, led by Taiwan Semiconductor. Shares were up 8% after the company reported strong third-quarter results. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia followed Taiwan Semiconductor higher, rising 3% in the premarket. AMD also jumped more than 2%.

Corporate earnings are set to continue with insurance company Travelers, alternative asset manager Blackstone and health insurer Elevance Health slated to report Thursday morning. Regional banks KeyCorp, M&T Bank and Truist Financial are also on deck.

Initial weekly jobless claims data and September retail sales numbers are due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Investors will parse through the reports for clues on the health of the labor market and U.S. consumer.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 faded 0.7% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng docked 1%.

Oil prices nicked ahead 17 cents to $70.56 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices acquired $11.20 to $2,702.50

US Market Updates