The major U.S. Index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq likely to see further upside after jumping to a new record high in the previous session.
Tech stocks may extend yesterday's rally amid a positive reaction to earnings news from San Jose-based technology giant Cisco Systems (CSCO).
Shares of Cisco are soaring by 14.5 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results and provided upbeat guidance. Cisco also revealed plans to cut nearly 4,000 jobs.
Market leader and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) is also seeing significant pre-market strength after a report from Reuters said the U.S. has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy the company's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.
The report comes amid a closely watched summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.
After a nearly two-hour long high-stakes meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Trump described the talks as "great."
The White House said, "The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy."
A statement issued by China's foreign ministry said the two leaders agreed to a "constructive strategic stable relationship" as the new orientation for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond.
With technology stocks moving sharply higher on the day, the Nasdaq showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Wednesday, reaching a new record closing high.
The S&P 500 also climbed to a new record closing high, although the narrower Dow edged slightly lower after posting a modest gain on Tuesday.
While the Dow slipped 67.36 points or 0.1 percent to 49,693.20, the S&P 500 advanced 43.29 points or 0.6 percent to 7,444.25 and the Nasdaq shot up 314.14 points or 1.2 percent to 26,402.34.
The rally by the Nasdaq partly reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the sector higher, jumping by 2.3 percent after CEO Jensen Huang was a last-minute addition to President Donald Trump's trip to China to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, the modest pullback by the Dow partly reflected a steep drop by shares of Salesforce (CRM), which tumbled by 3.2 percent. Notable declines by shares of IBM (IBM), Home Depot (HD) and Visa (V) also weighed on the blue chip Index.
The mixed performance on Wall Street also came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up by much more than expected in the month of April.
The Labor Department said its producer price Index for final demand jumped by 1.4 percent in April after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in March. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.5 percent.
The bigger than expected monthly increase by producer prices marked the largest advance since a 1.7 percent jump in March 2022.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices soared to 6.0 percent in April from 4.3 percent in March, coming in well above economist estimates for a 4.9 percent surge and marking the fastest growth since a 6.4 percent spike in December 2022.
"The jump in input prices portends further increases for consumer prices in May," said Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers. "We expect annual CPI inflation to move above 4.0 percent in May with energy prices still highly elevated more than two months into the Iranian conflict."
He added, "With inflation still trending higher, we expect the hawkish wing of the FOMC to advocate for an extended pause in interest rates even with incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh likely to prefer to lower rates over time."
Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are sliding $0.60 to $100.42 a barrel after slumping $1.16 to $101.02 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $20 to $4,706.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $2.40 to $4,709.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 157.96 yen versus the 157.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1698 compared to yesterday's $1.1710.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with the spotlight firmly on a high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Based on Xi Jinping's readout of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to develop a "constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability" led by cooperation and "measured competition."
The dollar held firm in Asian trading, tracking higher U.S. Treasury yields, as investors began to price in the prospect of Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
Spot gold traded above $4,700 an ounce, while Brent crude futures steadied near $106 a barrel after the International Energy Agency warned that the global oil market is likely to remain heavily undersupplied until October, bringing inflationary worries back into view.
China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.5 percent to 4,177.92 as investors awaited updates on China's import of Nvidia's advanced H200 chips. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished marginally higher at 26,389.04.
Japanese shares tumbled despite robust corporate results. The Nikkei 225 Index briefly reached another intraday record at 63,799 before reversing course to end 1 percent lower at 62,654.05.
The broader Topix Index settled 1 percent lower at 3,879.27 as rising government bond yields and BoJ rate hike expectations weighed on rate-sensitive real estate stocks.
Seoul stocks ended at a new peak as artificial intelligence-related stocks extended their rally. The Kospi surged 1.8 percent to 7,981.41, just shy of the landmark 8,000-point mark.
Samsung Life Insurance soared 7.8 percent after Q1FY2 net profit soared 90 percent year-over year. Samsung Electronics rallied 4.2 percent after proposing that its labor unions resume wage talks.
LG Electronics jumped 13.4 percent after announcing it supplied large LED signage to the new terminal at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
Australian stocks edged up slightly as a rebound in banks helped offset broader weakness across economically sensitive and growth-linked stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up 0.1 percent to 8,640.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended marginally higher at 8,884.70.
Accounting software firm Xero plummeted over 9 percent on concerns over profitability and margin pressures.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index dipped 0.3 percent to 13,025.07. Air New Zealand shares plunged 5.8 percent after the airline said it expects significantly steeper losses for the year to June 30.
Europe
European stocks have moved mostly higher on Thursday as U.S.-China talks got underway and official data showed the U.K. economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter, driven by contributions from all three sectors.
U.K. GDP increased 0.6 percent sequentially following the fourth quarter's 0.2 percent expansion. GDP grew at a pace of 0.3 percent in March alone, while economists had forecast a contraction of 0.1 percent. In 2025 as a whole, GDP advanced 1.4 percent compared to 1.0 percent growth in 2024.
The German DAX Index is up by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
Tech stocks traded higher after American technology company Cisco delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit.
Specialist media group Future Plc has soared after reporting strong cash generation in the first half and maintaining its full-year guidance.
Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods has also jumped after surpassing annual profit expectations and raising dividend.
Land Securities has also surged. The property company forecast further growth in rents after reporting full-year earnings in line with consensus.
Utility giant National Grid has also shown a strong move to the upside after posting higher full-year earnings.
Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica has also spiked after narrowing its first quarter loss and confirming its full-year guidance.
Meanwhile, Burberry Group shares have slumped. The British fashion house posted a 2 percent decline in full-year reported revenue despite profitability recovering markedly.
U.S. Economic News
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended May 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 211,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 199,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from the 200,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 203,750, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 203,000.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in April after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.6 percent in March.
Economists had expected retail sales to grow by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.7 percent leap originally reported for the previous month.
Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales increased by 0.7 percent in April after surging by 1.9 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.6 percent.
The Labor Department also released a report on Thursday showing a substantial increase by import prices in the U.S. in the month of April.
The report said import prices shot up by 1.9 percent in April after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in March.
Economists had expected import prices to jump by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices spiked by 3.3 percent in April after surging by a downwardly revised 1.5 percent in March.
Export prices were expected to shoot up by 1.1 percent compared to the 1.6 percent leap originally reported for the previous month.
At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of March. Business inventories are expected to climb by 0.8 percent in March after rising by 0.4 percent in February.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid is due to speak on "Payments Innovation and Community Banking" before the Future of Banking Conference at 10:15 am ET.
At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month's auction of twenty-year bonds.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack is due to deliver opening remarks before a virtual Conversations on Central Banking: "The Case for Central Bank Independence" event at 1 pm ET.
At 5:45 pm ET, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to participates in a moderated discussion before an event organized by the Conference of Business Economists.
Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr is due to speaks on "Balance Sheet" before a Money Marketeers FOMC event at 7 pm ET.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.