Tencent Securities News Beijing time on the evening of July 27th, according to the US financial website MarketWatch, US stock index futures rose before trading on Thursday and are expected to continue to hit record highs, due to the good performance of Facebook Inc's after-market results released on Thursday, thus triggering market optimism about technology stocks.
But at the same time, Twitter shares fell sharply in pre-market trading as the Weibo Corp platform reported weak user growth.
Major stock index futures are likely to remain at the record levels touched the previous trading day. Dow futures rose 21:00, or 0.1%, to 21668, S & P 500 futures rose 4.70, or 0.2%, to 2478, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 36 points, or 0.6%, to 5984.
All three benchmark US stock indexes hit record highs on Wednesday as they were supported by well-performing corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 0.5% to close at 21711.01, the S & P rose 0.7 points to close at 2477.83, and the NASDAQComprehensive indexIt rose 0.2% to close at 6422.75.
Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda, a global provider of foreign exchange trading services, said in an email comment that Facebook Inc's strong earnings performance is likely to push technology stocks higher in Thursday's trading. "given the upward trend of technology stocks so far this year, especially large technology stocks, this sector has to live up to its high valuations, and the level of growth we have seen is doing that."
Mr Ellem believes investors are looking for other incentives to fill the gap at a time when US President Donald Trump is unable to deliver on his promises to cut taxes and raise spending.
"the performance of this earnings season has not been disappointing, which is why the [US] stock market has not suffered the same correction as other stock markets so far this year." He said.
Sean Sean Darby, chief global equity strategist at Jefferies, the investment bank, and his team said they would raise the target for the S & P to 2500 from 2325, noting that as long as nominal GDP growth was "higher than Treasury yields, then investors should hold US stocks".
Corporate financial report:
Twitter fell about 10 per cent in pre-market trading as the company reported flat user growth, causing the stock to flatten its pre-earnings gains.
Many companies have reported results, with Comcast Corp's earnings and revenue beating Wall Street analysts' expectations, pushing its pre-market share price up 2 per cent. Verizon's share price is also up 1.6 per cent after the company's results. Procter & Gamble Co, United Parcel Service Inc Company andMasterCard IncThe cards will also release financial reports.
Amazon.Com Inc will release quarterly results after the US stock market closes on Thursday. In addition, online travel service providers Expedia, Intel Corp, Starbucks Corp and Mattel will also release results after trading.
Key stocks:
Facebook Inc's shares rose 4.2 per cent in pre-market trading as the company's quarterly profit beat expectations. If the social networking giant's share price rises strongly in regular trading on Thursday, its market capitalization could approach the $500 billion mark.
PayPal, the mobile payments group, rose 2.8% after it reported better-than-expected profits and raised its performance outlook.
At the same time, shares of international companies listed in the United States are also actively traded. AstraZeneca PLC fell 16% before the session after the pharmaceutical giant said the results of phase III clinical trials of its lung cancer drug Mystic were negative. Rival Bristol-Myers Bristol-Myers Squibb Co also fell 6% before trading after the company reported results.
Budweiser InBev rose 5.3% after the beer giant reported a sharp increase in quarterly profits.
Diageo PLC, the world's largest spirits producer, rose 7.5 per cent in pre-market trading after raising its profit margin growth target.
Economic data:
The number of first-time jobless claims in the United States for the week of July 22nd is 244000, which is expected to be 240000, with the previous value revised from 233000 to 234000. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the United States for the week of July 15th is 1.964 million, which is expected to be 1.96 million, compared with a previous value of 1.977 million.
Us durable goods orders in June compared with the initial value of 6.5%, the highest since July 2014, expected 3.7%, the previous value of-0.8% revised to-0.1%.
The U.S. merchandise trade account for June-$63.9 billion, is expected to be-$65.5 billion, with the previous value revised from-$65.9 billion to-$66.3 billion.
The Chicago Fed National activity Index for June is 0.13, expected to be 0.35, with a previous value of-0.26.
By 10:00 eastern time on Thursday (10:00 Beijing time on Thursday), second-quarter housing vacancy data will be released.
Other markets:
European stock markets fell slightly as investors digested a lot of corporate earnings. Asian stock markets are broadly higher.
Gold rose $13, or 1%, to $1262.30 an ounce, while precious and base metals rose across the board.
The Intercontinental Exchange Inc dollar index, which tracks movements in the dollar against six major international currencies, rose 0.2 per cent to 93.66. The dollar fell on Wednesday because some analysts believe the Fed has shown a "dovish" stance in its monetary policy life.