The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks likely to give back some ground following the rally seen in the previous session.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street as traders cash in on the strong upward move seen over the past several days.
A report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless decreased last week but remain at an elevated level may also weigh on Wall Street.
Traders shrugged off a report showing a sharp contraction in U.S. economic activity, sending stocks sharply higher during trading on Wednesday. The major averages all surged into positive territory after ending the previous session in the red.
The Dow surged 532.31 points or 2.21 percent to 24,633.86, while the NASDAQ soared 306.98 points or 3.57 percent to 8,914.98 and the S&P 500 jumped 76.12 points or 2.66 percent to end at 2,939.51.
The rally on Wall Street comes as upbeat news about Gilead Sciences' potential coronavirus treatment remdesivir has overshadowed a report from the Commerce Department showing a steep drop in U.S. gross domestic product in the first quarter.
The Commerce Department said U.S. real gross domestic product decreased at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the first quarter following the 2.1 percent jump in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Traders have largely shrugged off the GDP data as old news, with the remdesivir news generating considerable optimism.
The positive reaction to the remdesivir comes even though health experts have indicated testing is far more important to reopening the economy than treatment.
Markets maintained their broadly positive bias after the U.S. Federal Reserve held its interest rate target between 0 and 0.25 percent. The Fed said it would continue with its aggressive policy stance until it is comfortable that the economy is back on its feet.
The FOMC said in its post-meeting statement that the ongoing public health crisis "will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term," and pose considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.
"The Committee expects to maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals," the statement continued.
The positive sentiment extended to the oil markets as crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday, rebounding from losses in the previous two sessions.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are jumping $1.86 to $16.92 a barrel after spiking $2.72 to $15.06 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after sliding $8.80 to $1,713.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $3 to $1,710.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 106.61 yen versus the 106.68 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0876 compared to yesterday's $1.0873.
Asia
Asian stocks finished mostly higher on Thursday after a top U.S. health official said Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir was likely to become the standard of care for Covid-19.
Speaking at the White House Wednesday, top U.S. doctor Anthony Fauci said that early results from a trial showed it helped certain patients recover more quickly.
Investor sentiment was further bolstered after the Federal Reserve left key interest rates near zero, as widely expected, and said the U.S. central bank would continue to support recovery from the economic shock of the coronavirus.
The markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed in honor of the birth of Buddha. Chinese shares rose after the release of mixed economic data. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rose by 37.64 points, or 1.33 percent, to 2,860.08.
The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in April, although at a slower pace, the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics showed with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.8, down from 52.0 in March.
The non-manufacturing index came in with a score of 53.2 in April, roughly in line with expectations and up from 52.3 in the previous month.
The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 last month from 50.1 in March.
Japanese shares climbed as traders returned to their desks after a holiday on Wednesday. The Nikkei average rallied 422.50 points, or 2.14 percent, to 20,193.69 on the back of promising early trial results of an experimental Covid-19 treatment and on data showing that Japan's industrial production fell less than expected in March. The broader Topix index closed 1.03 percent higher at 1,464.03.
Industrial production in Japan fell a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent month on month in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. That beat expectations for a drop of 5.2 percent following the 0.3 percent fall in February.
On a yearly basis, industrial production was down 5.2 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 6.1 percent following the 5.7 percent gain in the previous month.
Retail sales in Japan were down 4.6 percent year-on-year in March - barely beating expectations for a decline of 4.7 percent following the downwardly revised 1.6 percent increase in February (originally 1.7 percent).
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing soared 5.1 percent. SoftBank Group pared early gains to end half a percent higher. The company said it now expects its net loss for the year ending March to widen to 900 billion yen from its previous forecast of 750 billion yen, reflecting new losses related to its investment in office-sharing firm WeWork.
Australian markets gained ground as risk appetite improved following encouraging data from Covid drug trials in the United States, a surge in oil prices and assurances of support from the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 129 points, or 2.39 percent, to 5,522.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 133.90 points, or 2.45 percent, at 5,597.70.
Energy stocks led the surge as oil prices continued to rebound from the early-week tumble. Santos climbed 9.3 percent, Origin Energy soared 8.8 percent and Woodside Petroleum jumped 6.9 percent.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto surged 4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group advanced 1.9 percent after hiking its annual iron ore shipments forecast.
Gold miners ended broadly lower after gold extended losses to a fourth straight session overnight.
ANZ Banking rose 1.4 percent after unveiling its half-year results. The other three banks gained 3-4 percent.
Europe
European stocks were flat to slightly lower on Thursday after Eurostat data showed the euro zone economy contracted 3.8 percent in the first quarter, marking the worst decline since records were kept in 1995.
The region's unemployment rate edged up to 7.4 percent in March while inflation fell to 0.4 percent in April from 0.7 percent in March.
Investors await the interest rate announcement from the European Central Bank later today for further direction.
There are some expectations that euro zone policymakers will expand debt purchases to include junk bonds as part of a bond-buying stimulus scheme.
Elsewhere, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attend his first press conference since his return to work.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.2 percent to 346.33 after rising 1.8 percent on Wednesday.
The German DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were also down about 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 index was up 0.1 percent.
Aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines rallied 4 percent. The company said it was too early to issue a new outlook to replace the guidance it withdrew in March.
Technology company Aixtron fell 4.6 percent after posting a loss in the first quarter and confirming full-year guidance.
Chemical company BASF declined over 2 percent after saying it won't be able to meet its full-year goals.
Safran shares jumped 3 percent. Chief Executive Philippe Petitcolin told reporters the aerospace supplier remained on "solid" foundations with 3.2 billion euros of cash and cash equivalents on March 31.
Plane maker Airbus soared 5 percent on reports that it was in talks with the French state regarding possible aid.
Utility Suez gained 2.3 percent. Declines in volumes have largely stopped by end of April and governments appear determined to drive the progressive exit from containment from May onward, the company said.
Consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser surged 4.6 percent after it achieved record sales growth in the first quarter and predicted a stronger than expected performance in 2020.
G4S Plc shares rallied 4 percent after the security services company reported a rise in first-quarter revenue.
Hikma Pharma climbed 4.6 percent. The company stuck with its full-year revenue forecast for its generic drug business.
Royal Dutch Shell lost 5 percent after cutting its dividend for the first time in 80 years and suspending the next tranche of its stock buyback program.
Sainsbury declined 2.4 percent. The supermarket chain has warned of a coronavirus hit of £500million over the coming year.
Lloyds Banking tumbled 3.5 percent after its first-quarter profit nosedived 95 percent.
U.S. Economic Reports
Personal income in the U.S. tumbled by more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The report said personal income plunged by 2.0 percent in March after climbing by 0.6 percent in February. Economists had expected personal income to slump by 1.5 percent.
The Commerce Department said personal spending also plummeted by 7.5 percent in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in the previous month. Spending was expected to nosedive by 5.0 percent.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a notable decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 25th, although claims remain at a significantly elevated level.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims tumbled to 3.839 million, a decrease of 603,000 from the previous week's revised level of 4.442 million.
Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 3.500 million from the 4.427 million originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also dropped to 5,033,250, a decrease of 757,000 from the previous week's revised average of 5,790,250.
At 9:45 am ET, MNI Indicators is scheduled to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of April. The Chicago business barometer is expected to drop to 38.0 in April, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction.
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April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.