U.S. stock futures were sharply higher in early Thursday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up about 0.14%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped by almost 1% during the last session on Friday. After this big increase, it only needed a 0.44% increase to reach a new record high. The bullish momentum in futures has been a welcome development as traders await the release of key economic data later this week.
During the latest trading session, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.11%, reaching 6,202.00 at 12:55 AM Eastern Time. This recent accomplishment is an important step. It has broken through the prior intraday all-time record high—the 6,147.43 set in late February. At the same time, Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 0.11%, adding to a bullish picture for the tech-heavy index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased by 62 points, or 0.14%, indicating a calm move higher. Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all flat shortly after 6 PM ET. Such tepid performance would suggest a wait-and-see attitude on the part of investors as they await key economic signals.
Even with the market positive generally, CorMedix had difficulty. After announcing a planned $85 million common stock offering, its shares subsequently tanked as much as 10%. Even retail titan Nike saw a decline of 2%, showing that even in this bullish sea, not every boat is being lifted.
Market analysts cautioned that investor confidence is still on shaky ground, but there was an unmistakable air of optimism. As BlackRock’s Rick Rieder put it about these market dynamics, “the markets were in a state of stasis. He further elaborated on the influx of capital into the market: “There is so much money that wants to come into the market that didn’t for a while. Absent negative news, the trend is for these assets to build their own momentum. They attract attention and interest without even trying.
Traders are looking forward to Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures price index data. This data should help provide some context for inflation and consumer spending trends.