Futures contracts linked to major US stock indices rose overnight on Wednesday night after the S&P 500 pulled back from record levels during the regular session.
Dow-linked contracts added 53 points, while S&P 500-linked contracts rose about 0.15%. The Nasdaq 100 futures gained a similar 0.15%.
The overnight session moves came after the S&P 500 slid from record highs during Wednesday’s regular session as pressures on optimism of technical equalization were sparked by the first round of big corporate profits that far exceeded expectations.
The broad equity benchmark fell 0.4% after hitting a new record early Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just 53 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost about 1% during regular trading as Tesla fell nearly 4%, Netflix and Facebook each fell more than 2%, and Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple each fell at least 1%.
With the first quarter earnings season under way, investors will ponder the financial results of snack company PepsiCo, asset manager BlackRock, as well as Citigroup and Bank of America on Thursday.
The season started in earnest with banking results on Wednesday when Goldman Sachs rose more than 2% after beating analysts’ expectations with record earnings and revenue for the first quarter due to the strong performance of the company’s stock trading and investment banking units .
JPMorgan Chase also surpassed projections on the income statement, aided by a $ 5.2 billion benefit from the release of funds previously earmarked for credit losses. Bank stocks have risen across the board this year, with the S&P 500 financial sector up nearly 20% versus 9.8% for the S&P 500.
Investors will examine the latest Labor Department report on Thursday on the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment insurance claims. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the government to report an additional 710,000 applications were filed for the first time in the week ending April 10.
March retail sales, also due Thursday morning, are expected to show a sharp surge in consumer spending. Some economists are seeing growth of 10% or more thanks to the introduction of the $ 1,400 stimulus checks. The consensus forecast is for a more modest growth of 6.1%.
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration called for a break in J & J’s Covid-19 vaccine administration after six people in the United States developed a rare blood clot disorder. The announcement sparked a sell-off when the Games reopened earlier this week, but is not expected to have a material impact on the pace of U.S. vaccine rollouts.
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