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postUS stock futures struggled on Thursday as investors absorbed the end of the longest government shutdown in US history, weighing its impact on the economy and the path of interest rates.
Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slipped 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) held steady, coming off a second record close in a row for the blue-chip benchmark as it topped 48,000 for the first time.
A bill ending the record-setting 43-day US federal shutdown was signed by President Trump into law after the House passed the bill in a 222-209 vote on Wednesday evening.
The stoppage has shaken financial markets and is estimated to have long-reaching effects, with an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office suggested that US GDP could be roughly $11 billion lower by the end of 2026.
But Wall Street’s questions about the economy are set to persist, after the White House said reports delayed by the closure “will be permanently impaired” and will likely never be released. Data on inflation and the jobs market in October are the key updates set to be skipped.
That uncertainty about the economic outlook is complicating calculations for the chances of interest-rate cuts in December and next year, as it could impact the Federal Reserve’s thinking in the run-up to next month’s meeting.
On the corporate front, results from Disney (DIS) are due before the bell on Thursday, as earnings season winds down.
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Boston Fed’s Collins joins chorus of officials sounding caution on rate cuts
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:
Boston Fed president Susan Collins said Wednesday that while she supported cutting interest rates at the last policy meeting, the bar for cutting rates further is “relatively high” and she sees holding rates at current levels for “some time.” …
In her first comments since the Fed’s policy meeting on Oct. 29, Collins cautioned that providing additional support to the economy through lower rates runs the risk of slowing — or possibly even stalling — inflation coming back down to the Fed’s 2% target.
She further stressed that demand in the economy is “resilient demand,” and while unemployment risks moving higher, she doesn’t think the job market has deteriorated further since the summer.
Collins joins the growing chorus of Fed officials who have become more cautious on whether to cut rates at the next meeting in December.
Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said Wednesday that while it’s an “extremely close call,” he believes inflation is a more “urgent risk” than the job market right now.
Read more here.
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Cisco stock climbs after AI-fueled boost to FY profit and sales outlooks
Cisco Systems (CSCO) raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts on Wednesday as data center expansions drive demand for its networking equipment.
Shares of the San Jose technology company stock jumped almost 7% in premarket trading.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Premarket trending tickers: Alibaba, Sealed Air and JD.com
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) stock rose 4% in premarket trading on Thursday following the news that the e-commerce giant is to do an overhaul of its main mobile AI app in the coming months to help it more closely resemble OpenAI’s (OPAI.PVT) ChatGPT.
Sealed Air Corporation (SEE) stock jumped 18% before the bell on Thursday after talks around the bubble wrap maker going private emerged.
JD.com, Inc. (JD) (JD) stock rose 4% premarket on Thursday after beating market estimates for quarterly revenue.
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Cisco shares surge in after-hours trading on boosted forecast
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
