U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday following Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) first-quarter earnings results released after Wednesday’s higher close.
Not long after Nvidia released its earnings results, SpaceX submitted its S-1 registration statement to the SEC. The filing provided a rare public glimpse into the company's financial health just ahead of its upcoming investor roadshow scheduled for June.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.58%, and the two-year bond was at 4.06%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 96.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.01% |
| S&P 500 | 0.01% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.04% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.04% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.042% at $741.56, while the QQQ was lower by 0.060% to $712.72.
Materials, information technology, and consumer discretionary stocks recorded the biggest gains on Wednesday, driving most S&P 500 sectors higher, though consumer staples and energy stocks bucked the trend to close lower.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | 1.31% | 50,009.35 |
| S&P 500 | 1.08% | 7,432.97 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.54% | 26,270.36 |
| Russell 2000 | 2.56% | 2,817.36 |
BlackRock has upgraded developed market stocks to overweight, driven by “AI-driven earnings momentum strength.” Strong corporate earnings expectations, particularly in the technology sector, are keeping them “risk-on” as the AI boom continues to lift U.S. corporate profits.
Furthermore, BlackRock emphasizes that market leadership is expanding. They note that “the gap between expected Magnificent 7 earnings growth and the rest of the S&P 500 in 2027 has narrowed to 3 percentage points, down from 31% in 2024”.
Beyond tech, they favor sectors like healthcare and energy that are structurally tied to the AI buildout and rising power demand.
On the economic front, competing “mega forces” are shaping highly uncertain macro paths. While one scenario envisions an “AI productivity boom that could sustain stronger growth and earnings,” BlackRock remains cautious about persistent inflation.
They anticipate that inflation will “settle above pre-pandemic levels,” compounded by geopolitical fragmentation and “inflation pressures from geographical fragmentation such as the Middle East supply shock.”
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 4.75% to hover around $99.42 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.28% to hover around $4,531.26 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.03% higher at the 99.1170 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.51% higher at $77,848.37 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, as India’s Nifty 50, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices fell. While Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's Kospi, and Australia's ASX 200 indices rose. European markets were mostly higher in early trade.
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