United States stock futures ticked higher on Thursday night (Friday AEST), pushing into record territory ahead of key inflation data due later in the session.
By 9:30 am AEST (11:30 pm GMT), Dow futures, S&P futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures were each up about 0.1%.
In extended trading, Nike surged 10.2% as the sportswear giant topped analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter, despite reporting a 12% year-on-year decline in sales.
Concentrix dropped 7.7% after posting earnings per share (EPS) of $2.70, missing the $2.75 expected. However, revenue came in at $2.42 billion, ahead of the $2.38 billion forecast.
Thursday’s moves followed a positive session for equities, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% to 6,141.02 - just shy of its February intraday record of 6,147.43. The Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 1%, also nearing an all-time high, while the Dow gained 0.9%.
For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 have each risen more than 2%, and the Nasdaq is up over 3%.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients: "Markets focused on media reports that President Trump may be considering naming the next nominee as early as September.
"The reports name Kevin Warsh (former Fed governor), Kevin Hassett (National Economic Council director), Scott Bessent (Treasury Secretary) and Chris Waller (Fed Governor) as possible candidates."
Attention now turns to Friday's release of the May personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index. Markets expect the index to rise 0.1% for the month and 2.3% year-on-year.
Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, is also forecast to climb 0.1% from April and 2.6% over the past 12 months.
Investors will also be watching for new data on personal income, consumer spending, and consumer sentiment.
