NEW YORK, 6th June, 2024 (WAM) -- Wall Street was subdued before the bell Thursday, one day after markets were again pushed to records by the fever around artificial intelligence technology, Associated Press reported.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1 percent in premarket trading, while futures for the S&P 500 future were unchanged.
Lululemon Athletica jumped more than 9 percent ahead of the opening bell after the yoga and athletic wear maker beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets in a stronger-than-expected first quarter.
Vista Outdoors jumped more than 8 percent after MNC Capital Partners announced that it boosted its all-cash bid for the outdoor sports and recreation company to US$39.50 per share, or over US$3 billion. Its previous offer was US$37.50 per share.
New York software company Sprinklr tumbled more than 22 percent after it beat Wall Street's first-quarter sales and profit forecasts but issued full-year revenue guidance that disappointed investors.
U.S. job data on Friday
The biggest potential market-moving news comes Friday when the U.S. government releases the May jobs report. The labour market has held up better than expected in the midst of higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve in its effort to bring down inflation. However, some softness has been evident in recent data, including a report this week that job openings in April fell to their lowest level since 2022.
The Fed keeps a close watch on the labour market and wages when it considers whether to cut, raise or leave its benchmark borrowing rate alone. The Fed meets next week and most analysts expect the U.S. central bank to leave rates alone for the seventh straight time.
In Europe at midday, market gave back some of their early gain after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX each climbed 0.4 percent.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6 percent to 38,703.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.3 percent higher to 18,480.61 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5 percent at 3,048.79.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 7,821.80 after data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the country's trading surplus rebounded in April, with exports falling 2.5 percent and imports dropping 7.2 percent.
Taiwan’s Taiex surged 1.9 percent, with contract electronics maker Foxconn's shares losing 1.2 percent despite the company reporting its revenue rose 22 percent year-on-year in May, a record high for the month.
In India, the Sensex added 0.7 percent after Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition won a majority in the country’s national elections. In Bangkok, the SET lost 0.6 percent.
South Korea’s markets were closed for a holiday.
Oil, currency markets
In other markets, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 70 cents to US$74.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 65 cents to US$79.06 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 156.19 Japanese yen from 156.10 yen. The euro inched down to US$1.0867 from US$1.0868.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2 percent to 5,354.03. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2 percent to 17,187.90 and likewise set a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, lagged the market with a gain of 0.2 percent to 38,807.33.
The rally pushed the total market value of Nvidia, which has become the poster child of the AI boom, above US$3 trillion for the first time.
Nvidia is leading the way because its chips are powering much of the rush into AI. After rising 5.2 percent on Wednesday, the stock was up 1.7 percent before markets opened on Thursday. Its gain for the year is approaching 150 percent.