United States stock futures traded in a narrow range on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST) as investors looked ahead to weekly jobless claims data for fresh insight into the health of the labour market.
By 9:40 am AEST (11:40 pm GMT), Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures edged 0.1% higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered slightly above the flatline.
In extended trading, KB Home rose 0.8% after beating Wall Street expectations with third-quarter earnings of $1.61 per share, compared with consensus estimates of $1.50. Revenue came in at $1.62 billion, above forecasts of $1.59 billion.
H.B. Fuller slipped 2.1% after reporting a 2.8% year-on-year revenue decline to $892 million and issuing soft guidance.
Hertz Global surged 10% after unveiling plans for a $250 million private offering of exchangeable senior notes due 2030.
Intel gained 2.3% following a Bloomberg report that the company had approached Apple about a potential investment.
The moves came after all three major U.S. indexes fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, with artificial intelligence leaders such as Nvidia, Oracle, and Micron Technology under pressure.
Attention is now turning to Thursday’s release of weekly jobless claims, a key measure of labour market resilience that could influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary stance.
Last week’s claims eased after a brief spike, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the weakening labour market is becoming a greater concern than inflation.
He noted “a marked slowdown” in supply and demand dynamics and warned that “in this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment have risen”.
Investors are also watching Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and keeping a close eye on political tensions in Washington as the risk of a government shutdown looms.
