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U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Thursday trading, following on from another set of record highs on Wall Street last night, as big tech stocks continue to power broader market gains and investors extend bets on an autumn Fed rate cut.
Nvidia’s (NVDA) last-day surge lifted the AI chip and processor maker past the $3 trillion mark last night, with its record-high close taking it past Apple (AAPL) and to within touching distance of Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company.
Related: Nvidia earnings seal Big Tech stock dominance
The advance helped both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach fresh all-time highs, with the latter extending its year-to-date gain to around 12.25% on bets that a cooling job market will cement the case for a September Fed rate cut.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields fell to a two-month low in overnight dealing, and were last changing hands at 4.293%, following yesterday’s softer-than-expected ADP Employment Report and ISM activity data that showed moderating growth and easing price pressures.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is expected to unveil the central bank’s first rate cut since 2019 later today in Frankfurt.
Yesterday’s rate 25 basis point rate cut from the Bank of Canada, the first reduction from a G7 central bank since the pandemic, added to hopes of an autumn Fed move, with investors focused on today’s European Central Bank decision prior to the start of trading.
Investors will also track today’s weekly jobless claims data ahead of the Labor Department’s May payroll report prior to the start of trading on Friday.
Economists expect the report to show that around 185,000 new jobs were created last month, with the headline unemployment rate holding at 3.9%.
Related: Interest rate cut bets shift after surprising ADP jobs data
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 2 point decline while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is call 38 points lower.
Premarket gains for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are supporting the Nasdaq, which is called 6 points higher.
Nvidia shares were marked 1.26% higher at $1,239.84 each, pegging its market value at $3.04 trillion. Microsoft, which closed with a value of $3.15 trillion, was marked 0.21% lower while Apple was little-changed at $3 trillion.
$NVDA, $AAPL and $MSFT currently
account for ~20% of the S&P 500. pic.twitter.com/9Td3cErMB4
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) June 5, 2024
Other stocks on the move include Lululemon Athletica (LULU) , which jumped 7.7% after the sports and leisurewear group posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings thanks in part to robust China sales.
Five Below (FIVE) , meanwhile, plunged 17% after slashing its current-quarter and full-year sales forecasts following a disappointing first quarter update.
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In overseas markets, Europe’s Stoxx 600 hit a fresh record high, and was last marked 0.66% in the green in Frankfurt, ahead of today’s ECB rate decision. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.34% in London.
Overnight in Asia, tech stocks helped the Nikkei 225 edge 0.55% higher in Tokyo, while the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 1.02% into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
