Stock futures were flat on Thursday morning after major averages posted a two-day decline, as strong earnings and strong economic reports for June and July pushed investors past the possibility of a recession.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average fell 9 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.08% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.18%.
In regular after-hours trading, all three major averages closed higher for the day. The Dow advanced more than 400 points, while the S&P 500 hit its highest level since June. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose about 2.5%.
Investors got the green light to jump back into tech names after the July services PMI and comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard. Bullard said He doesn’t think America is in a recessionCiting job gains and low unemployment.
“US-China tensions are high, and the central bank continues to be tough on inflation, but earnings have been enough to push the recovery to the next level,” says Barclays. “The wave of technical quarters came in better than expected [technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications] The complex led the S&P 500 to a fresh QTD.”
Investors will get another batch of earnings on Thursday. Eli Lilly, Kellogg, Alibaba and ConocoPhillips are among those scheduled to report quarterly results before the hour.
On economic data, investors look ahead to weekly jobless claims in the morning. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester speaks at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh.
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