U.S. index futures show a slight uptick in pre-market trading on Thursday, buoyed by softer-than-expected inflation. This optimistic scenario has helped the S&P 500 surpass the 5,300 point mark for the first time, signaling potential relief in inflationary pressures and rejuvenating investor spirits.

At 6:37 AM, the Dow Jones (DOWI:DJI) futures rose by 16 points, or +0.04%. S&P 500 futures edged up by 0.03%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.14%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.338%.

In the commodities market, June West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.38% to $78.32 per barrel. July Brent crude dropped 0.37%, close to $82.44 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian exchange rose 2.56% to $122.04 per metric ton.

On Thursday’s economic calendar, a series of crucial indicators will outline the financial landscape in the United States. At 8:30 AM, the Commerce Department will release data on new home constructions for April, while the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index for May will be revealed simultaneously. At the same time, the Labor Department will publish last week’s unemployment insurance claims and April’s import and export prices. At 9:15 AM, the Federal Reserve will announce figures related to industrial production and capacity utilization for April.

European markets are trading lower due to mixed corporate results. Auto and oil and gas stocks declined, while mining saw modest gains. The insurance sector is up after strong profits from Swiss Re (TG:SR9) and Zurich Insurance (TG:A28YPZ). EasyJet (LSE:EZJ) is down over 4% after posting a larger-than-expected loss. BT (LSE:BT.A) surged 12.02% following an announcement of a cost-cutting program. Another highlight is Siemens AG (TG:SIE), which reported lower industrial profits and a slowdown in automation, falling short of analysts’ expectations.

Stock markets in Asia and the Pacific closed the day with positive results, influenced by the wave of optimism emanating from Wall Street, where new records were set. This mood was boosted by recent data on U.S. inflation, which was more contained than expected, raising expectations of possible interest rate cuts later this year. Although a recent survey indicated a contraction in Japan’s GDP, risk appetite prevailed in Asia. Attention is now turning to China, which is about to release important economic indicators, including data on industrial production and retail sales.

Among the main Asian indices, the Shanghai SE saw a modest rise of 0.08%, while Japan’s Nikkei surged significantly by 1.39%. Hong Kong and Australia also noted considerable increases in their indices, with the Hang Seng up by 1.59% and the ASX 200 by 1.65%. South Korea’s Kospi rose by 0.83%.

With traders reacting positively to the consumer price inflation data, U.S. stocks sharply rose during Wednesday’s trading. The Dow Jones surged by 349.89 points or 0.88% to 39,908.00 points, the S&P 500 gained 61.47 points or 1.17% to 5,308.15 points, and the Nasdaq shot up by 231.21 points or 1.40% to 16,742.39 points. The lower-than-expected inflation boosted optimism regarding the outlook for interest rates.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% in April, after a 0.4% increase in March. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise another 0.4%. The annual growth rate slowed to 3.4% in April, down from 3.5% in March. Excluding food and energy, the CPI also rose 0.3%, in line with economists’ expectations.

Scheduled to release quarterly reports before the market opens are Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Under Armour (NYSE:UAA), JD.com (NASDAQ:JD), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), John Deere (NYSE:DE), Lightspeed Commerce (NYSE:LSPD), NICE Systems Ltda (NASDAQ:NICE), Bread Financial Holdings (NYSE:BFH), Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT), Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL), among others.

After the market closes, figures from Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO), Doximity (NYSE:DOCS), Despegar (NYSE:DESP), Globant (NYSE:GLOB), Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO), Okeanis Eco (NYSE:ECO), Adecoagro SA (NYSE:AGRO), DXC Technology (NYSE:DXC), and more, will be awaited.