U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday as investors awaited fresh economic data to confirm the widespread belief that the Federal Reserve could move forward with a rate cut in December.
As of 4:34 P.M. (GMT+7), the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked up by 0.08%, or 40.20 points, to 47,923.30 points, while S&P 500 futures edged up by 0.06%, or 4.10 points, to 6,854.10 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 rose slightly by 0.02%, or 5.50 points, to 25,612.00 points, after modest gains in the previous session.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by a softer-than-anticipated ADP report on private payrolls, bolstering expectations that the central bank will begin lowering rates at its policy meeting next week.
According to CME FedWatch, traders estimated an 89% chance of a rate cut. Market participants are also looking ahead to additional labor market indicators due later Thursday, including weekly jobless claims and Challenger job cut figures.
With corporate earnings season nearing its end, Salesforce shares advanced after the business software provider lifted its outlook beyond analysts’ estimates. In contrast, shares in Snowflake dropped over 8% to $241.36 after the AI data cloud company’s revenue guidance disappointed, despite an expanded partnership with Anthropic.
Retail earnings from Dollar General and Kroger are anticipated to offer perspective on U.S. consumer spending, while Hewlett-Packard Enterprise is also set to report quarterly results on Thursday.
The share price of Nvidia is set to open higher on Thursday, following the positive sentiment after lawmakers in the United States chose not to include a proposal that would have restricted the company’s ability to export advanced AI chips to China.
Microsoft’s pre-market also ticked 0.24% higher after the company later pushed back at the report, denying that its salespeople missed targets in the last fiscal year and that the company has lowered its growth targets for artificial intelligence software sales.
In addition to economic and corporate developments, market watchers are tracking potential tariffs policy changes. The Supreme Court is currently considering the legality of President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose significant new trade duties.
