Futures linked to the Nasdaq-100 were higher on Thursday, boosted by sharp gains from Facebook-parent Meta Platforms.
Nasdaq-100 futures gained 1.3%. S&P 500 futures jumped 0.5%. Futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 43 points, or 0.1%.
Meta surged more than 19% in premarket trading after reporting a fourth-quarter earnings beat and announcing a $40 billion stock buyback. That helps investors look at the past losses of the business unit that manages the metaverse.
The moves followed a positive day for the three major indexes. The S&P 500 gained 1.05% on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite closed 2% higher. Meanwhile, the Dow took a narrow 0.02% gain after falling more than 500 points earlier in the day.
Wednesday’s gains came after the Federal Reserve announced a 0.25 percentage point interest rate hike. That marked a retreat from the 0.5 percent point increase at the December meeting, bolstering investor optimism that inflation would cool enough for the central bank to take notice. But the central bank gave no indication of an imminent halt in rate hikes.
“Traders think the Fed is behind the curve and the threat of inflation is receding sharply,” said Jamie Dutta, market analyst at Vantage. “The Fed is open to changing its mind and may if the economy loses momentum.”
Investors will be watching Thursday for earnings reports from household names including Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Ford Motor and Starbucks. They will also look for data on jobless claims, productivity, labor costs and factory orders.
