U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday, rebounding from a decline triggered by the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady. All four benchmark indices were trading higher.
Apple Inc. AAPL, the world’s largest company by market capitalization, will report its first-quarter earnings after the market closes today.
Investors are also awaiting the first-quarter GDP data, which will be released before the market opens.
The 10-year Treasury yield is currently at 4.50%, and the two-year yield is at 4.20%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool indicates an 80% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will maintain current interest rates in March 2025.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.47% |
| S&P 500 | 0.35% |
| Dow Jones | 0.42% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.99% |
In premarket trading on Thursday, both the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY and the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ were higher. SPY was up 0.33% at $603.80, and QQQ gained 0.44% to reach $523.10, based on Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From The Last Session
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady.
Nvidia Corp. NVDA shares dropped over 4% on the news of potential sales restrictions for China. General Dynamics Corp. GD and Corning Inc. GLW beat earnings expectations, with the latter offering strong guidance.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $122.11 billion in December, while wholesale inventories fell 0.5%. Tech, real estate, and healthcare sectors dragged the S&P 500 lower, though consumer staples and communication services gained.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.51% | 19,632.32 |
| S&P 500 | -0.47% | 6,039.31 |
| Dow Jones | -0.31% | 44,713.52 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.25% | 2,283.10 |
Insights From Analysts
Following the revival from the DeepSeek-led slump, Scott Wren, the senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors said, “As we try to look multiple years into the future, we believe development expenditures aimed at artificial intelligence will increase dramatically.”
However, he also said that sector-led investing could be volatile. “Sector investing can be more volatile than investments that are broadly diversified over numerous sectors of the economy and will increase a portfolio’s vulnerability to any single economic, political, or regulatory development affecting the sector. This can result in greater price volatility.”
Ryan Detrick, the chief market strategist at Carson Research, drew parallels between the S&P 500 performance based on the Chinese calendar year in his latest note.
According to the Chinese calendar, 2025 is the ‘Year of Snake’.
Mapping the data from 1950, Detrick found that “The Year of the Snake has been up only three out of six times and up an average of less than 1%.”
Additionally, stocks have alternated between higher and lower since 1953, suggesting this could be a down year. Next year is the Year of the Horse, which hasn’t been “all that strong either.”
“Lastly, we found it amusing that animals with horns saw some of the best returns, with last year’s horned Dragon a good one for the bulls,” he added, however, he also said that Carson Research would never suggest investing based on the zodiac signs.
Furthermore, as the S&P 500 is up 2.91% year-to-date, he highlighted that “higher January tends to suggest better returns the final 11 months of the year.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will keep an eye on Thursday:
- On Thursday, the GDP data for the first quarter and the initial jobless claims data till Jan. 25, will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- December’s pending home sales will be out at 10:00 a.m., ET.
Stocks In Focus:
- Apple Inc. AAPL was down 0.14% in the premarket on Thursday ahead of its earnings, which will be released after the closing bell. Analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of $2.35 per share on revenue of $124.13 billion
- United Parcel Service Inc. UPS was up 1.62% as Wall Street expects it to report earnings of $2.53 per share on revenue of $25.42 billion, before the opening bell.
- Tesla Inc. TSLA was up 1.78% despite weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales results. It promised to launch new and “more affordable” models in the first half of 2025 and showcased the example of the company’s full self-driving in a video shared online.
- Meta Platforms Inc. META was up 2.23% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales results. However, its sales guidance for the current quarter fell short of expectations.
- Microsoft Corp. MSFT was down 3.99% as its cloud revenue missed estimates despite beating overall revenue and EPS estimates.
- IBM Corp. IBM was up 7.60% as it beat its revenue and earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.
- Other companies that are slated to report earnings before the opening bell today include Mastercard Inc. MA up 0.93%, Blackstone Inc. BX up 1.24%, Caterpillar Inc. CAT up 0.70%, and Visa Inc. V which report after closing bell was up 0.91%.
Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.67% to hover around $72.13 per barrel.
The gold spot index was up by 0.64% to $2,777.47 per ounce. The Dollar Index was down 0.01% at 107.989 level.
Asian markets were higher on Thursday as Australia’s ASX 200, Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose. European markets were also higher in trade.
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