Futures related to U.S. stocks ticked up in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records in the previous session, as investors weighed signs of easing tensions between Washington and Tehran and awaited a fresh round of earnings and economic data.
Sentiment was supported by growing hopes of a possible diplomatic breakthrough after President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Wednesday that the Iran conflict was “very close to over” and that Tehran was eager to strike a deal.
A White House official also told CNBC that a second round of U.S.-Iran talks was under discussion, though no date has been set.
Investors are also watching earnings before the bell from PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), Travelers (NYSE:TRV) and Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW), alongside weekly jobless claims and March’s industrial production data.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.283%, and the two-year bond was at 3.755%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.02% |
| S&P 500 | 0.03% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.09% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.10% |
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 trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.13% at $700.85, while the QQQ gained 0.34% to $639.55.
Stocks In Focus
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC)
- Shares of TSMC (NYSE:TSM) were 0.4% higher in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the chipmaker reported a 58% increase in first-quarter profit, which beat Wall Street estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSM maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth and momentum score.
Allbirds
- Shares of Allbirds Inc (NASDAQ:BIRD) extended gains in pre-market trading on Thursday and were last up 387.55% at $12.14 as the sneaker-maker said it is reinventing itself as an AI compute infrastructure play backed by a new $50 million financing facility.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that BIRD maintains a strong price trend in the medium and long terms.
PepsiCo
- Shares of PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) gained 1% in pre-market trading on Thursday as the beverage maker reported Q1 revenue of $19.44 billion versus the $18.93 billion expected by Wall Street analysts. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.61 also beat expectations of $1.55.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PEP maintains a strong price trend in the medium and long terms, with solid growth and quality scores. However, the stock lags in momentum and value scores.
Tesla
- Shares of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) extended its gains in pre-market trading on Thursday, after closing nearly 8% higher in the previous session, after CEO Elon Musk touted progress on the company’s forthcoming AI5 chip.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSLA maintains a strong quality score, even as other metrics are weak.
Cues From Last Session
Wednesday saw Tesla and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) lead the pack with a 4% gain, with other banking and tech stocks also seeing increases.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.15% | 48,463.72 |
| S&P 500 | 0.8% | 7,022.95 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.59% | 24,016.02 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.3% | 2,713.66 |
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on:
- Initial jobless claims data for the period ended April 11 will be out at 8.30 AM ET.
- Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for April will also be out 8.30 AM ET.
- March’s capacity utilization and industrial production numbers will be out at 9.15 AM ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
WTI Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by about 1% to hover around $92 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude rose 1.4% to $96.25 per barrel at last check.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.44% to around $4,812.05 per ounce at last check. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.16% higher at the 98.2110 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was last exchanging hands at a 1.11% higher price of $74,814.77, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed higher on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 touching a record high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, South Korea’s Kospi and Mainland China’s CSI 300 clocked gains, except Australia’s ASX 200, which fell after the release of labor data on Thursday. Most European markets were in the green.
Image via Shutterstock
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