The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the upside after ending yesterday's choppy session little changed.
Early buying interest may be generated amid a positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news from big-name tech companies.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) are surging by 7.1 percent in pre-market trading after the Google parent reported better than expected first quarter revenues.
Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) is also jumping by 3.7 percent in pre-market trading after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.
Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are also seeing significant pre-market strength after the chipmaker reported better than expected fiscal second quarter earnings.
On the other hand, shares of Meta Platforms (META) are plunging by 7.8 percent in pre-market trading after the Facebook parent reported first quarter results that beat expectations but raised its forecast for capital spending.
A pullback by the price of crude oil may also contribute to early strength on Wall Street, with U.S. crude oil futures slumping by more than 1 percent despite lingering concerns about the Middle East conflict.
Following the pullback seen during Tuesday's session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq crept up 9.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 24,673.24, the S&P 500 edged down 2.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,135.95.
The narrower Dow ended the day more firmly negative, sliding 280.12 points or 0.6 percent to 48,861.81 amid steep losses by Boeing (BA), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Travelers (TRV).
The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies.
Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) were among the companies reporting their quarterly results after the close of trading.
Traders also kept an eye on the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement, with the central bank announcing its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in an unusually divided vote.
The Fed said it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50 to 3.75 percent, citing its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run.
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan supported keeping rates unchanged but "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time."
The trio purportedly took issue with the statement's use of "additional adjustments to the target range," as the latest actions by the Fed have been to lower interest rates.
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, networking stocks saw substantial strength, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index spiking by 4.8 percent to a record closing high.
Oil producer stocks also moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil, resulting in a 3.2 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Oil Index.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and oil service stocks also saw considerable strength, while gold, airline and steel stocks showed significant move to the downside.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are slumping $1.27 to $105.61 a barrel after soaring $6.95 to $106.88 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after sliding $46.90 to $4,561.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $83.90 to $4,645.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.88 yen versus the 160.41 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 $1.1677.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday as a sharp rise in oil prices on fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East overshadowed stronger-than-expected earnings from U.S. tech giants.
Sentiment was also shaped by the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish hold, as was widely expected, in the most divided FOMC vote since October 1992.
Gold jumped more than 1 percent to trade above $4,600 an ounce in Asian trading after hitting a one-month low in the previous session.
The dollar rose and Brent crude prices for June delivery surged to $122 a barrel after reports that the U.S. is seeking international help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that U.S. Central Command may consider new military action against Iran.
China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.1 percent to 4,112.16 after the release of mixed economic data, with the manufacturing sector showing resilience in April while services activity lagged on softer domestic demand.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.3 percent to 25,776.53 on reports the U.S. is preparing to launch a series of strikes on Iran, which would bring an end to a fragile ceasefire.
Japanese markets fell as trading resumed after a public holiday. The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1.1 percent to 59,284.92 as benchmark government bond yields hit a 29-year high on growing concerns about inflation.
Investors also digested mixed economic readings, with factory output slipping unexpectedly in March on the back of rising costs due to global uncertainties, while retail sales growth showed modest resilience. The broader Topix Index settled 1.2 percent lower at 3,727.21.
Seoul stocks ended sharply lower, giving up early gains following strong earnings from Samsung Electronics. The Kospi ended down 1.4 percent at 6,598.87 after briefly rising above the 6,750 mark during intra-day trading.
Samsung shares fell 2.4 percent despite the company reporting its highest-ever quarterly profit, fueled by robust demand for AI-related memory chips.
Australian markets ended slightly lower to extend their losing streak for the eighth day running as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.2 percent to 8,665.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 0.3 percent at 8,887.60.
Woolworths plummeted 7.8 percent after the supermarket giant warned that fiscal 2026 domestic food segment earnings growth would no longer reach the upper end of the guidance range due to the Middle East war and spiking petrol prices.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rallied 1.0 percent to 12,903.31 after a survey revealed that the Reserve Bank doesn't need to rush into hiking the Official Cash Rate.
Europe
European stocks have moved mostly higher on Thursday as investors watch the latest developments in the Middle East and react to policy updates from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft all beat earnings expectations, but there was some concern over Meta's AI spending spree.
The Bank of England maintained its key interest rate but cautioned that there is a risk of material second-round effects from the energy price shock. The European Central Bank also left rates unchanged.
In economic news, German retail sales figures for March and French GDP data for the first quarter disappointed investors.
Eurozone inflation accelerated to 3.0 percent year-on-year in April, up from 2.6 percent in the prior month and matching estimates.
Brent crude futures for June delivery hovered near $122 a barrel following reports that U.S Central Command has prepared plans for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran.
While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.
German sportswear provider Puma rallied 2.8 percent after replacing its chief financial officer.
Online takeaway food company Delivery Hero jumped 6 percent after posting higher first-quarter growth in its gross merchandize value.
Glencore shares rose nearly 2 percent. The commodity trader maintained its 2026 production outlook after reporting first-quarter production broadly in line with expectations.
Consumer goods major Unilever added 1.3 percent after launching a €1.5 billion share buyback.
Lender Standard Chartered advanced 1.6 percent after posting record first-quarter earnings.
Homebuilder Persimmon climbed 2.1 percent after keeping its 2026 delivery and profit targets steady.
Rolls-Royce Holdings surged 6 percent. The engineering company said it was confident on meeting annual forecasts despite the disruption caused by the Middle East conflict.
Netherlands-headquartered consulting and engineering firm Arcadis soared 11.5 percent after first-quarter results beat forecasts.
Airline conglomerate Air France-KLM gained 1 percent in Paris after narrowing its first-quarter loss.
Lender Credit Agricole plunged 6.4 percent after first-quarter earnings came in below estimates.
Peers BNP Paribas tumbled 5.2 percent and Societe Generale declined 6.5 percent after announcing their quarterly results.
Technip Energies slumped 8.6 percent. The engineering group slashed its full-year outlook, citing disruption from the Middle East war.
U.S. Economic News
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended April 25th.
The report said initial jobless claims slid to 189,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.
Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edge down to 212,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 207,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 211,000.
Consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index climbed by 0.7 percent in March after rising by 0.4 in February. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.7 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index accelerated to 3.5 percent in March from 2.8 percent in February. The faster pace of growth was also in line with estimates.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index rose by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by 0.4 in February. Core prices were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index ticked up to 3.2 percent in March from 3.0 percent in February. Economists had the pace of growth to accelerate to 3.2 percent.
The Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending.
The report said personal income climbed by 0.6 percent in March after coming in unchanged in February, while personal spending jumped by 0.9 percent in March after growing by 0.6 percent in February.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed U.S. economic growth reaccelerated in the first quarter of 2026 but came in slightly below economist estimates
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product shot up by 2.0 percent in the first quarter after climbing by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.1 percent.
The increase in GDP in the first quarter reflected positive contributions from investment, exports, consumer spending and government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, also increased.
At 9:45 am ET, MNI Indicators is due to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of April. The Chicago business barometer is expected to rise to 55.3 in April from 52.8 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.
The Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of February at 10 am ET.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.