Dow futures were mostly muted on Thursday, with a few little ups and downs, as investors waited to see how big names like PepsiCo and Delta Air Lines were doing with their earnings.
The market is feeling cautiously optimistic, especially after the S&P 500 hit some record highs, but futures for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq didn’t really go anywhere.
People are also watching Fed Chair Jerome Powell closely, hoping he drops some hints about where interest rates are headed since inflation is still on everyone’s mind.
On top of that, the government shutdown is slowing the flow of new economic data, which isn’t helping. Basically, the market’s in a holding pattern, just waiting for some fresh numbers and corporate news to stir things up.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. Everyone’s keeping a close eye on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech today, especially with the US government shutdown slowing down key economic data.
Traders and investors are eager for any hints about the Fed’s next moves, particularly how fast and how much interest rates might come down this year.
Recent Fed minutes suggest they are leaning toward more easing to support a slowing job market, and the markets are basically pricing in a rate cut in October, with a chance of another before year’s end.
Powell’s comments on inflation, the economy’s resilience, and how the shutdown could impact decisions will be the big things everyone’s watching.
2. The US government shutdown has now entered its ninth day, and there’s still no end in sight.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at a standstill over budget funding, leaving more than 750,000 federal workers furloughed, including nearly half of IRS employees.
Essential services like Social Security, Medicare, and the Postal Service are still running, but a lot of government operations are basically on pause.
Military personnel are still on duty, but without pay, and they could miss their first paycheck if the shutdown drags on.
3. In pre-market trading on Thursday, tech and semiconductor stocks were stealing the spotlight, thanks to some strong earnings.
TSMC is in red even after a solid Q3 revenue beat, boosted by AI demand, while PepsiCo also saw gains after reporting better-than-expected sales, even with slowing demand in North America.
Some transportation and retail stocks were lagging, as investors stayed cautious amid the government shutdown and uncertainty around consumer spending.
Overall, the market was moving a bit mixed early on, showing cautious optimism ahead of the opening bell and the key economic data coming later in the day.
4. Looking at Wall Street as of Thursday, the S&P 500 is hovering near a resistance level around 6,757 points.
It’s showing signs of being a bit overbought, with the RSI creeping up toward 70 on the daily chart.
Right now, the market seems to be in a consolidation phase; higher lows are keeping the bullish trend alive, but analysts are warning that a pullback to around 6,500 could happen if selling picks up.
The 50-day and 200-day moving averages are still holding strong as key support levels.
5. Global markets were a mixed bag on Thursday as easing geopolitical tensions helped some regions, but investors remained cautious.
In Asia, markets moved higher, Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.7%, and Chinese stocks climbed after the holiday, fueled by optimism in AI and strong semiconductor demand.
In Europe, things slipped a bit, weighed down by HSBC’s privatization plans and weak industrial data out of Germany. Meanwhile, gold held steady above $4,000 an ounce, and the dollar gained strength against major currencies.
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