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U.S. equity futures extended gains Thursday, powered in part by further advances for the tech sector and a pullback in Treasury bond yields, as investors reacted to dovish rate signals from the Federal Reserve while eyeing earnings from Apple and Amazon after the bell.
Outsized tech moves, particularly in the chip sector, helped both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted their biggest single-gains since February last night, with Nvidia (NVDA) adding a record $330 billion in market value amid a 12.8% surge.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s suggestion that a September rate cut its now on the table, provided jobs and inflation data continue to support the central bank’s twin mandate, also added to broader market gains after it kept rates unchanged at a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5%.
Apple will post its fiscal third quarter earnings after the close of trading.
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Benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yields, which have now fallen more then 25 basis points since the last Fed meeting in July, retreated to 4.055% in overnight trading, with 2-year notes pegged at 4.284%.
The CME Group’s FedWatch, meanwhile, suggests traders have locked-in bets for a September rate cut, with the odds of a larger 50 basis point move pegged at 13.5%.
Related: Fed drops biggest hint yet on next interest rate move
With today’s session likely focused on June quarter updates from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) after the bell, last night’s stronger-than-expected earnings report Meta Platforms (META) is driving shares in the Facebook parent firmly higher.
The group posted a Street-beating revenue tally of $39.1 billion, thanks in part to what it called “healthy global advertising demand” and issued a solid near-term forecast that could offset its AI spending ramp.
Meta shares were marked 7.2% higher in premarket trading and on track to add around $85 billion in market value.
Heading into the start of the trading day, the S&P 500, which ended the month of July with a 1.13% gain, is priced for a 19 point opening bell advance, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 61 points to the upside.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, which recorded a 0.75% decline in July, is set to open 87 points higher.
In overseas markets, Britain’s FTSE 100 was little-changed ahead of a key Bank of England rate decision later in London, while the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 benchmark slipped 0.38% to kick-off August trading.
More Wall Street Analysts:
Analyst revisits Nvidia stock price target after Blackwell checksAnalysts prescribe new Walgreens stock price targets after earningsAnalyst revises Facebook parent stock price target in AI arms race
Overnight in Asia, a sharp move higher in the yen, which traded through the 150 mark against the U.S. dollar, clipped gains for the Nikkei 225, which ended 2.49% lower in Tokyo.
The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, was marked 0.45% higher heading into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
