Micron May Help Lead Early Rally On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the upside following the pullback seen in the previous session.

Technology stocks may help lead an early rally on Wall Street, as reflected by the 1.5 percent jump by the Nasdaq 100 futures.

The upward momentum for the tech sector comes amid a pre-market surge by shares of Micron (MU), which are soaring by 17.4 percent.

Micron is moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and providing strong fiscal first quarter revenue guidance.

Stocks may also benefit from the release of upbeat U.S. economic data, with a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended September 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 222,000.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent gains that lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs. Investors digested the latest set of economic data and assessed the central bank’s rate cut trajectory.

The Dow ended down 293.47 points or 0.7 percent at 41,914.75, snapping a four-session winning streak. The S&P 500 settled lower by 10.67 points or 0.2 percent at 5,722.26, while the Nasdaq closed up 7.68 points or less than a tenth of percent at 18,082.21.

On the economic front, data from the Commerce Department showed new home sales pulled back sharply in the month of August, plunging by 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 716,000, after soaring by 10.3% to a revised rate of 751,000 in July.

Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.3% to a rate of 700,000 from the 739,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Amgen dropped nearly 5.5 percent. Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Wells Fargo, Caterpillar, Chevron Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Visa Inc. also ended notably lower.

Nvidia Corporation climbed more than 2 percent, extending gains from the previous session. Tesla, Walmart, AMD, Salesforce, T-Mobile, United Parcel Service, Starbucks Corporation and Micron Technology also posted strong gains.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.57 to $68.12 a barrel after plunging $1.87 to $69.69 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after rising $7.70 to $2,684.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $9.90 to $2,694.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 144.53 yen versus the 144.75 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1152 compared to yesterday’s $1.1132.

Asia

Asian stocks rose sharply on Thursday as U.S. memory chip maker Micron forecast higher than expected first-quarter revenue and China’s politburo vowed to step up fiscal support to stabilize the beleaguered property sector.

Investor sentiment was also underpinned after the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development slightly raised its global economic growth forecast for 2024 and said it expects more Fed rate cuts next year.

The dollar index rebounded in Asian trading as focus shifted to the release of U.S. GDP data and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech.

Gold hovered near record levels after a handful of Federal Reserve officials left the door open to another large rate cut.

Oil extended an overnight slide, falling more than 2 percent in Asian trading after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia – the de facto leader of OPEC – was prepared to pump more oil to regain market share.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged 3.6 percent to 3,000.95, marking its highest closing level since June and capping its seventh straight winning session, buoyed by the politburo’s promise to step up counter-cyclical adjustments of fiscal and monetary policy and strive to achieve full-year economic and social development targets.

A Bloomberg News report citing unnamed sources that China is considering injecting up to 1 trillion yuan ($142.48 billion) of capital into its biggest state banks to support the struggling economy.

Hong Kong’s tech-heavy Hang Seng Index soared 4.2 percent to 19,924.58, driven by Micron Technology Inc.’s after-hours rally.

Japanese markets rallied as a weaker yen lifted export-related stocks. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 2.8 percent to 38,925.63, while the broader Topix Index settled 2.7 percent higher at 2,721.12.

Automakers Honda Motor and Toyota surged around 3 percent each, while chip giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest rallied 8 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The yen fell to a three-week low against the dollar after the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s July policy meeting showed board members are split over the future path of interest rates.

Seoul stocks advanced, with the Kospi surging 2.9 percent to 2,671.57 as China ramped up support for its economy.

Semiconductor maker SK Hynix soared 9.4 percent after an announcement that it began volume production of a 12-layer memory chip known as HBM3E. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 4 percent.

Australian markets posted strong gains, with retailers and tech companies leading the surge. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 1.0 percent to 8,203.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 1.1 percent at 8,462.80.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rallied 2.2 percent to 12,491.58.

Europe

European stocks have bounced back on Thursday after snapping a two-day winning streak the previous day. Sentiment was underpinned by expectations of another big U.S. interest rate cut this year and optimism over fresh stimulus measures from China.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank reduced its key policy rate by 25 basis points for the third straight meeting and signaled that further cuts in the SNB policy rate may become necessary in the coming quarters to ensure price stability over the medium term.

In economic news, survey data published jointly by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed that German consumer confidence will recover moderately in October despite weaker economic outlook.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -21.2 in October from -21.9 in September. The score was forecast to fall to -22.4.

Elsewhere, the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) Consumer Sentiment Monitor has revealed that U.K. consumer confidence has fallen in September due to concerns about both the economy and personal finances.

While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore have jumped in London after China’s politburo pledged strong policy support to meet this year’s economic growth target of roughly 5 percent.

Sportswear maker PUMA has also spiked as it announced the appointment of Markus Neubrand, aged 48, as its Chief Financial Officer and a Board member.

Lender Commerzbank has also surged. The bank, which is the takeover target of Italian lender UniCredit SpA, confirmed its strategy, expecting higher net profit and return on equity by 2027.

SMA Solar Technology AG shares have also jumped. The solar energy equipment supplier said that it has decided to initiate a company-wide restructuring and transformation program aimed at increasing efficiency and strategic focusing.

Evotec has also spiked after the drug and development company entered into a technology development partnership with Novo Nordisk.

Meanwhile, shares of Hennes & Mauritz AB have slumped in Stockholm after the Swedish clothing major reported weak profit and sales in its third quarter.

German chemicals giant BASF has also shown a notable move to the downside after announcing a reduction in its dividend.

U.S. Economic News

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods were virtually unchanged in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders came in flat in August after soaring by 9.9 percent in July. Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 2.6 percent.

Excluding a decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Ex-transportation orders were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended September 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 222,000.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.

The Commerce Department also released a report on Thursday showing gross domestic product jumped by 3.0 percent in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate.

At 9:10 am ET, Boston Federal Reserve Bank Susan Collins is due to host a fireside chat with Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler on the intersection between bank supervision and financial inclusion as part of the Boston Fed’s Financial Inclusion and Banking Supervision Workshop.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy before the Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America Board of Directors Workshop at 9:15 am ET.

At 9:20 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver opening remarks before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to speak before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference at 9:25 am ET.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of August. Pending home sales are expected to surge by 3.1 percent in August after plunging by 5.5 percent in July.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is scheduled to speak before the 2024 Treasury Market Conference at 10:30 am ET.

Also at 10:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook is due to participate in an “Artificial Intelligence and Workforce Development” roundtable discussion with Community Stakeholders hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Columbus State Community College.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Neel Kashkari is scheduled to host a fireside chat with Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr for the Boston Fed’s Financial Inclusion and Banking Supervision Workshop at 1 pm ET.

Also at 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook is scheduled to give a lecture on “Artificial Intelligence and the Labor Force” before the Ohio State University President and Provost’s Diversity Lecture and Cultural Arts Series at 6 pm ET.