U.S. stock futures surged Thursday, setting the stage for a new record high. Investors welcomed a slew of updates, including solid U.S. economic data, upbeat earnings from Micron (MU), and promises of additional stimulus from China while awaiting word from Jerome Powell.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.8% after both indices fell from record highs at the close. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) contracts led gains, jumping 1.5% as shares of Micron surged.
Stocks are looking solidly positive again as optimism about AI trading, the health of the U.S. economy, and China’s stimulus push converge. This could have implications for U.S. markets as well.
Nvidia (NVDA) supplier Micron raised its revenue forecast for the next quarter, citing strong demand for memory chips used in AI data centers. Chip stocks Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), ASML (ASML), and STMicro (STM) rose after the earnings report.
Also, the U.S. government’s final update on second-quarter GDP growth beat Wall Street expectations, while weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in four months.
Meanwhile, China’s top leaders have signaled they are going all out to revive the ailing economy with new pledges to boost fiscal spending, stem a property crisis and support stock markets. A big rally in mainland stocks helped propel the CSI 300 (000300.SS) to its best week in a decade.
Adding to the optimism was the growing anticipation of another major rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Traders said Pricing with 60% probability The November meeting showed a 0.5% increase, a sharp decline from the 40% increase a week earlier.
Read more: The Impact of the Federal Reserve Rate Cut on Bank Accounts, CDs, Loans, and Credit Cards
Investors are waiting for a statement from Fed Chair Powell later today to test that hope, which will be the highlight of a parade of Fed speakers on Thursday. Their comments will set the stage for Friday’s highly anticipated reading of the PCE index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
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