U.S. stock futures rose on Thursday following Wednesday’s mixed close. This comes as President Donald Trump is in China addressing key issues such as trade, tariffs, Taiwan, and Iran with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On the economic front, April U.S. retail sales rose by 0.5%, with sales excluding motor vehicles and parts climbing a solid 1.9% for the month. Concurrently, initial jobless claims for the week ending May 9 ticked up by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000, while U.S. import prices surged 1.9% in April.
On Thursday, Xi stressed the significance of the Taiwan issue, terming it as the "most critical matter" in bilateral relations, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing state media.
Meanwhile, the U.S. cleared Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) H200 AI chip sales to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR (NYSE:BABA), Tencent Holdings ADR (OTC:TCEHY), and 8 other firms, but Beijing has halted the deliveries.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.46%, and the two-year bond was at 3.97%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 98.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.
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 higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.33% at $744.74, while the QQQ was higher by 0.16% to $715.73.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🌐 Find more market-moving insights at https://www.benzinga.com — your one-stop destination for the latest financial news, data, and expert analysis to stay ahead of the markets.
📲 Follow us on socials @benzinga
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Investing in financial markets carries risk, and there are no guaranteed returns. All information is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as financial advice. Always do your own research and speak with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Only invest what you can afford to lose. Past performance does not guarantee future outcomes.