U.S. Index Futures Dip Slightly, Oil Prices Climb

In Thursday’s pre-market, U.S. index futures are showing weakened performance, contrasting with the new peaks reached by the Dow Jones and S&P 500 the previous day.

At 05:28 AM, Dow Jones (DOWI:DJI) futures fell 17 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.06%, and Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.01%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was at 4.113%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March rose 0.49% to $74.23 per barrel. Brent crude for April rose 0.59% to around $79.68 per barrel. Iron ore with a 62% concentration, traded on the Dalian exchange, rose 2.39% to $135.45 per metric ton.

On today’s US economic agenda, investors await, at 08:30 AM, the release of unemployment insurance claims for the week ended last Saturday by the Department of Labor. In addition, December wholesale inventories will be published at 10:00 AM by the Department of Commerce.

Asian markets closed higher on Thursday, driven by a record day on Wall Street and ahead of a long holiday in China. Japan’s Nikkei reached its highest level in 34 years, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced. In mainland China, the markets remained positive for the third consecutive day, supported by support measures from the local market regulator and a large investment fund.

European markets are trading higher, with investors digesting earnings reports from large companies. Shares of Maersk (TG:DP4A), the Danish maritime giant, fell 3.5% after suspending share buybacks, citing “high uncertainty” in 2024 profits due to disruptions in the Red Sea. On the other hand, shares of Adyen (EU:ADYEN) rose 20.7%, driven by higher consumer spending.

Wednesday’s close witnessed a robust surge, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reaching new peaks, with the latter closing just below the 5,000-point mark. The Dow Jones increased 0.40%. The S&P 500 rose 0.82%. The Nasdaq advanced 0.95%. Optimism about corporate earnings and favorable economic data bolstered investor confidence, even amid concerns about interest rates.

On Thursday’s earnings front, financial reports are scheduled to be presented by ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Cameco (NYSE:CCJ), Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE), Hershey (NYSE:HSY), Tapestry (NYSE:TPR), Under Armour (NYSE:UAA), Lightspeed (NYSE:LSPD), among others, before the market opens.

After the close, numbers from Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM), Pinterest (NYSE:PINS), Cloudflare (NYSE:NET), Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE), Bill.com (NYSE:BILL), Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO), Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN), Dexcom (NASDAQ:DXCM), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), and more are awaited.