US pre-open: Stocks seen up as earnings, jobless claims roll in
US stocks looked set for a slightly firmer start on Thursday ahead of earnings from the likes of Square and Uber and as investors mulled the latest initial jobless claims figures.
At 1235 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% and 0.4% higher.
On Wednesday, stocks closed at record highs after the US Federal Reserve said the economy was strong enough for it to start tapering its pandemic bond buying programme.
Danske Bank said: "In line with our base case, the Fed announced it will reduce the monthly QE buying pace by $15bn per month starting from mid-November. This means that QE is concluded in June.
"As expected, the Fed introduced some flexibility by saying the tapering pace could be adjusted if needed. We think balance of risk is tilted towards a higher tapering pace, although it is not our base case.
"Fed Chair Powell linked future rate hikes to labour market outcomes, unless the Fed fundamentally changes its view on high inflation being transitory. We believe yesterday's announcement marks the beginning of a tightening cycle still expecting two rate hikes next year (25 basis points both in September and December 2022)."
On the corporate front, investors were sifting through earnings from Regeneron, Kellogg’s and Qualcomm, among others, with Uber and Square also slated to report.
In macroeconomic news, the latest data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 269,000 in the week ended 30 October, hitting their lowest level since 14 March 2020. Analyst had been expecting a figure of 275,000.