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U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday as traders digested a batch of strong U.S. data on retail sales and wholesale inflation, while the market eagerly awaited the start of trading in chipmaker Arm, said to be the year’s most hotly anticipated IPO.
How are stock-index futures trading
-
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+0.38%
rose 15 points, or 0.3%, to 4533. -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
+0.49%
gained 111 points, or 0.3%, to 35026. -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
+0.08%
added 40 points, or 0.3% to 15591.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
fell 70 points, or 0.2%, to 34576, the S&P 500
SPX
increased 6 points, or 0.12%, to 4467, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP
gained 40 points, or 0.29%, to 13814.
What’s driving markets
Thursday was shaping up to be a busy session for markets, as investors digested an interest-rate hike by the European Central Bank and a spate of U.S. economic data all while waiting for chipmaker Arm to start trading after its shares priced at $51, the high end of its target range.
Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.6% in August despite a hangover for Internet stores after the Amazon Day sales event, but most of the increase was tied to higher gasoline prices.
U.S. wholesale prices jumped 0.7% in August, according to the PPI index. The gain was largely because of rising energy costs, surpassing the 0.4% increase expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.6% in August, climbing for the fifth month in a row.
An earlier inflation report released Wednesday showed core consumer prices rose 4.3% during the 12 months through August, down from 4.7% the month before.
After the latest batch of data markets continued to price in little chance of the Fed hiking borrowing costs after its meeting next week and remain undecided about any 25 basis point hike in November.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the opening trading of ARM Holdings
ARM,
after the chip designer priced its IPO at $51 per share, towards the top of the expected range that gives the U.K.-based group a $52 billion valuation. It is felt that a well-received ARM listing may help revive the IPO market and boost bullish sentiment more broadly.
“Given the eagerness from investors, it seems ARM could have pushed for an even higher price, but is playing it safe to try to ensure a surge in the share price once trading gets underway,” said Susannah Streeter head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Meanwhile, the euro fell alongside German government bond yields after the European Central Bank raised interest rates, but implied further hikes would be unlikely. The euro was off 0.4% at $1.07 in recent trade.
Companies in focus
-
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
TSM,
+0.99%
rose 1.4% and Nvidia Corp.
NVDA,
+0.27%
gained nearly 1% in premarket trading as U.K.-based chip designer ARM Holdings PLC
ARM,
heads for its Nasdaq trading debut on Thursday. Both companies are among a host of companies investing in ARM at the IPO price. Late Wednesday, ARM priced shares at $51 each, towards the top end of the expected range. -
HP Inc. shares
HPQ,
-3.27%
fell 1.2% after Berkshire Hathaway
BRK.A,
+0.43% BRK.B,
+0.39%
sold 5.5 million shares of the PC and printer maker, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Wednesday.
