Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Thursday as Wall Street tries to regain its footing following a mixed session.
Dow futures climbed 174 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.4%, boosted higher by shares of Micron Technology.
The semiconductor manufacturer was trading 14% higher in extended trading after issuing strong guidance for the current quarter. Results for Micron’s fiscal fourth quarter also topped analysts’ estimates. Fellow semiconductor-linked stocks Applied Materials and Lam Research both rose 4% in sympathy.
Both the S&P 500 and the Dow retreated from their records to close lower on Wednesday. The broad market benchmark lost 0.2%, while the blue-chip average sank 0.7%. Both indexes had hit fresh all-time highs earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend by inching up.
A series of economic data supported a solid economy, quelling fears that perhaps the Federal Reserve is cutting rates aggressively because of the economy slowing. Weekly jobless claims fell more than expected, pointing to a steady labor market. Durable goods orders for August were unchanged versus economists’ expectations for a decline. And the final reading of second-quarter GDP was unrevised at a strong 3%.
Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, pinned some of Wednesday’s volatility on the upcoming presidential election.
“What stocks do in the next month is a bit of a coin flip, and I think that’s what we’re seeing, because there’s some repositioning that took place and also we’re now thinking about the 40 days into the election,” he said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday afternoon. “A lot [of investors] don’t want to commit capital until after Election Day. I don’t think it matters who wins; they just want to get that event behind them.”
Despite Wednesday’s losses, all three major averages are still tracking to end September higher.