US stock futures ticked higher on Thursday evening as markets await the release of the Fed's preferred inflation metric.
By 7:05 pm ET (11:05 pm GMT) futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each lifted 0.1% apiece.
In after-hours trading, Costco Wholesale slipped by 1% following a slight revenue miss. The warehouse retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $5.29 per share on $79.70 billion in revenue, slightly missing analysts' expectations of $5.08 per share on $79.97 billion.
Despite the miss, Costco shares are up 36.6% for the year.
Vail Resorts also saw declines after the company posted a steeper-than-expected loss of $4.67 per share in its fiscal fourth quarter. The ski resort company also reported in-line revenue of $265 million but announced it would be cutting its workforce in response to financial pressures.
Earlier on Thursday, all three major U.S. indexes posted gains, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record for the third time this week and the Nasdaq Composite marking its fourth straight day of gains.
A series of positive economic reports buoyed investor sentiment, showing that initial jobless claims had fallen more than expected, reflecting a resilient labor market.
Additionally, the final reading for second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at a 3% annualised rate.
On Friday, all eyes will be on the release of the PCE price index, which will provide critical insight into inflation trends. The data is expected to show a 2.3% annualised rise in headline PCE and a 0.1% monthly increase.
Investors and policymakers alike are hoping the report signals a continued cooling in inflation, which could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance.
For the week, all major indexes are trending higher. The S&P 500 has gained nearly 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is set for a 0.3% rise, and the Nasdaq Composite is on track for a robust 1.4% advance.
