United States stock futures traded slightly lower on Thursday evening (Friday AEDT), following a record close for the S&P 500 driven by President Donald Trump’s call for lower interest rates and crude oil prices.
By 10:15 am AEDT (11:15 pm GMT) Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and S&P 500 futures eased 0.1% apiece, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.2%.
In extended deals, Texas Instruments dropped 2.3% despite strong fourth-quarter results.
Boeing dropped 2% after preliminary fourth-quarter results missed estimates due to the IAM work stoppage and agreement, as well as defense segment charges.
Meanwhile, Twilio surged 14.5% after projecting fourth-quarter 2024 revenue growth of approximately 11% year-over-year at an investor event, while issuing optimistic long-term financial targets.
During the regular session, markets received a boost after Trump addressed world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating his intention to “demand that interest rates drop immediately”. He also pledged to request Saudi Arabia and OPEC nations to lower oil prices.
This week, optimism around Trump’s pro-business stance has lifted risk assets. Investors are also reassured by the lack of concrete action on tariffs in Trump’s early days back in the White House.
All three major stock indices are poised to log their second consecutive weekly gains. The Dow and S&P 500 have risen 2.5% and 2%, respectively this week, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.2%.
Investors are closely monitoring the 10-year Treasury yield, which has been climbing amid strong corporate earnings reports. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned that Trump’s efforts to stimulate private-sector investment could drive inflation, potentially pushing the benchmark 10-year yield back toward the 5% mark.
