Stock futures rose on Thursday evening as Wall Street looked to end the week higher, boosted by strong quarterly reports from major technology companies.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1%.
Futures were supported by gains in extended trading in two of the market’s biggest stocks. Shares of Amazon and Apple rose after showing strong sales growth in cloud computing and iPhones, respectively, in their most recent quarters.
The move in futures comes after a second straight rally in stocks. The Dow is up nearly 2% for the week, while the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, is up 2.8%.
Those gains came despite a three-quarters of a percentage point hike by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday and a negative GDP reading on Thursday.
“The market is hopeful that the slowdown in economic growth will lead to a more dovish Fed going forward, even if it’s a little further off. So it would make sense to me that expectations of weaker rates going forward are translate into a bit more dynamism in the equity markets,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments.
However, Goodwin cautioned that the unusual economic environment and the long period before the Fed’s next meeting make it difficult to predict the central bank’s path from here.
On Friday, investors will get an updated look at a key reading on second-quarter inflation and labor costs, which could be key points for the Fed as it considers its next move.
Investors have also been navigating a mixed batch of earnings reports this week. Shares of Roku sank more than 20% in after-hours trading after the company missed estimates and warned of a slowdown in advertising. Chipmaker Intel fell 7% after its quarterly results missed expectations.
Key earners on Friday included Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Procter & Gamble.
[ad_2]
Source link
