Futures tiptoe higher ahead of more economic data, Powell testimony
Wall Street futures聽edged higher on Thursday ahead of more economic data and commentary from Jerome Powell after the Federal Reserve chair stuck to the script overnight by saying the central bank still expects to cut rates later this year.
Mr. Powell said rate reductions will “likely be appropriate” later this year, “if the economy evolves broadly as expected” and once officials gain more confidence in inflation’s steady decline.
The comments kept alive investors’ expectations of an interest rate cut in June, giving a boost to U.S equities, which had faltered in the days leading up to the testimony.
Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with rate-sensitive technology and chip stocks in the lead.
“The much awaited Powell testimony did not provide many surprises. We still expect a 25bp (basis point) cut starting in June and 75-100bp of cuts this year,” Mohit Kumar, Jefferies’ chief economist for Europe, said in a note.
All eyes will be back on Powell who is set to wrap up his two-day testimony on Thursday.
Investors also awaited jobless claims data聽due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT),聽which, along with the crucial nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, could provide further details on the strength of the US labor market.
础听谤别蝉颈濒颈别苍迟听labor market could make it difficult for the Fed to start cutting interest rates in June, given risks of a pick-up in inflationary pressures.
At 6:55 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis聽1YMcv1聽were up 33 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis聽EScv1聽were up 10.25 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis聽NQcv1聽were up 66.75 points, or 0.37%.
Electric carmaker Tesla聽lagged megacap growth and technology peers in premarket trading, down 1.6%.
Chip stocks such as Nvidia聽and Micron Technology聽MU.O聽gained 1.9% and 3.3%, respectively, and were set to extend their rally from the previous session.
Lingerie maker Victoria’s Secret & Co聽dropped 30.7% on a聽weak annual聽.
Eli Lilly聽shed 1.6% after rival聽 said early trial data for its highly anticipated experimental drug, amycretin, showed that participants had a weight loss of 13.1% after 12 weeks. – Reuters
