On Thursday, stock index futures rose as investors digested Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments ahead of Apple’s earnings release.
Wall Street’s major indexes closed mixed yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining about 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 each fell about 0.3%.
Powell says next move will be a cut, though so far all seems uncertain
Powell stated that the Fed’s next move is likely to be an interest rate cut, though this now appears uncertain after recent U.S. inflation readings exceeded estimates.
Market traders had discounted expectations of interest rate cuts by the Fed until the fourth quarter; this outlook remains unchanged after Wednesday’s meeting.
Powell emphasized that disinflation has slowed recently and that progress toward the 2% annual inflation target has largely stalled.
Although U.S. equities welcomed the prospect of no further rate hikes, they are likely to remain under pressure in the coming months as interest rates are still elevated.
On Thursday, additional economic data will be available for analysis, including weekly jobless claims, worker productivity, and unit labor costs for the first quarter, though the main focus will be on Friday’s April employment report.
Apple’s first quarter results
First-quarter earnings season continues, and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) will release its results after the close. Although Apple is expected to see weaker iPhone sales, the primary focus will be on the company’s strategies related to artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has been a key focus this earnings season, with major companies such as Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) reporting significant earnings growth from their AI offerings, though they have also noted rising costs.
Ahead of the open, more results are expected from companies such as Moderna (MRNA) and Peloton (PTON), as well as delayed releases from Amgen (AMGN), Coinbase (COIN) and lastly, DraftKings (DKNG).
Elsewhere in the markets, shares of DoorDash (DASH) fell nearly 12% before the session began, following the release of its disappointing annual earnings forecast.
Carvana (CVNA) rallied nearly 40% on the back of the used car dealer’s first-quarter earnings windfall and strong outlook.
Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 5% after the chipmaker issued guidance that surpassed expectations.
