Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Steady Amid Flurry of Earnings Reports; Nasdaq Aiming for 4th Straight Day of Record Highs
Stock futures moved slightly higher Thursday as investors digested quarterly results from major companies and awaited further developments in President Donald Trump’s feud with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Futures tied to S&P 500 and Nasdaq were recently up 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed. The major indexes are coming off a winning session on Wednesday, when the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high for the third consecutive session.
Trump on Wednesday denied reports that he is laying the groundwork to dismiss Powell, though he reiterated his longstanding criticism of the Fed chief for not cutting interest rates this year and for his handling of a renovation at the Fed’s headquarters. The reports of Powell’s potential dismissal briefly roiled financial markets yesterday amid concerns that the Fed’s independence, which is a critical source of investor confidence in the U.S., could be compromised.
Several of the companies reporting earnings were on the move in premarket trading Thursday. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) was up more than 3% after the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer raised its growth outlook amid booming AI demand. GE Aerospace (GE) shares were up more than 1% after the airplane engine maker reported strong results and boosted its forecasts. Pepsi (PEP) shares jumped 4%, while United Airlines (UAL) added 3%, and Dow component Travelers (TRV) edged lower.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies were mostly higher Thursday morning, though the gains were modest. Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO) and Tesla (TSLA) each rose less than 1%, while Alphabet (GOOG) was down slightly.
Bitcoin was at $118,100 in recent trading, after surging yesterday to around $120,000. The digital currency, which hit a record high of $123,000 early Monday, has bounced around this week as cryptocurrency legislation works its way through Congress.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.46% this morning, unchanged from yesterday’s close. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.3% to 98.70, trading at its highest level in a month.
Gold futures were down 1.2% at $3,320 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 1% to $67.05 per barrel.