US pre-open: Futures higher following Fed rate decision

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Thursday as investors continued to feast on corporate earnings. As of 1300 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.41%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.63% and 0.82% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 31.45 points higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates steady for a little longer.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell ruled out interest rate hikes as the central bank's next move, despite a lack of signs pointing to easing inflation of late.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: There were some wild moves across US stock indices last night as investors responded to the Federal Reserve's FOMC statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference. The major indices were in negative territory ahead of the rate announcement, but then bounced sharply after the FOMC left rates unchanged as expected, and on the back of a benign statement. Then they pulled back sharply and eventually ended the session mixed."

In the corporate space, chipmaker Qualcomm traded higher on better-than-expected adjusted earnings and strong revenue guidance, food delivery firm DoorDash was in the red after posting a wider-than-expected loss per share, and shares in used-car retailer Carvana surged in pre-market trading after unveiling its best-ever earnings.

Apple, Amgen, Coinbase and DraftKings will all report earnings on Thursday.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be out at 1330 BST, while March factory orders were due out at 1500 BST.

Traders were also looking ahead to Friday's closely watched April jobs report.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com