United States stock futures traded higher on Thursday night (Friday AEST) after the market closed little changed in the wake of a retreat by bond yields.
By 8:45 am AEST (10:45 pm GMT Thursday), Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were each 0.08% higher while the Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.04%.
Among the stocks moving in after-market trading, D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS ) gained 1.05% after it announced general availability of its sixth-generation Advantage2 quantum computing system, while Immix Biopharma (NASDAQ: IMMX) lost 15.35% after publishing the results of a drug trial.
Earlier United States stock indices closed virtually flat in regular trading after bond yields came off highs reached on concern about the U.S. Government budget deficit and debt.
President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill was passed by the House of Representatives, increasing debt by US$3.8 trillion to $36.2 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.35 points to 41,859.09, the S&P 500 index dipped 2.60 points or 0.04% to 5,842.01 and the technology-based Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) rose 53.09 points or 0.28% to 18,925.74.
Macquarie global rates and currencies strategist Thierry Wizman said a large deficit implied greater bond supply and perhaps higher inflation as the debt was monetised to avoid default.
"Either way, it makes nominal fixed-income instruments less attractive as long-term investments,” Wizman was quoted by CNBC as saying.
Among the U.S. economic news to be released on Friday is new home sales and building permits data, with the U.S. market to be closed for Memorial Day on Monday.
