US Stock Futures Trade Mixed After Skirting Record Highs In Last Session: GE Aerospace, American Airlines, Union Pacific In Focus

U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday following Wednesday's rally. Futures of benchmark indices were lower except Dow Jones, which was marginally higher in premarket trade.

After being propelled to the brink of a record closing high on Wednesday the S&P 500 index was poised to open lower according to futures.

The 10-year Treasury note yielded 4.63%, while the two-year note yielded 4.30%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool indicated a strong 99.5% probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at its upcoming meeting on Jan. 31, 2025.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Nasdaq 100	-0.52%
S&P 500	-0.20%
Dow Jones	0.02%
Russell 2000	-0.19%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ both experienced negative premarket trading on Thursday. SPY fell 0.17% to $605.39, and QQQ declined 0.53% to $528.71, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From The Last Session

U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 reaching a new all-time high, intraday.

Netflix Inc. NFLX and Procter & Gamble Co. PG both reported better-than-expected financial results, boosting market sentiment. Abbott Laboratories ABT, however, missed revenue expectations.

On the economic front, the U.S. mortgage applications saw a slight increase, but this had a limited impact on market movement.

While most sectors experienced declines, particularly utilities, real estate, and energy sectors fell the most. However, technology and communication services led gains.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	1.28%	20,009.34
S&P 500	0.61%	6,086.37
Dow Jones	0.30%	44,156.73
Russell 2000	-0.61%	2,303.72

Insights From Analysts

The performance of the ‘Magnificent 7’ companies will drive corporate earnings growth, according to the analysts at BlackRock because these firms possess robust balance sheets, significant cash reserves, and negative net debt, enhancing their resilience to rising interest rates.

“Even in a higher-rate environment, we still think stocks can keep pushing higher as long as fundamentals stay strong,” the note stated.

BlackRock’s current stance remains risk-on as it anticipates the broadening of the AI beneficiary pool. However, it will monitor for potential triggers that may necessitate a shift in investment strategy.

According to Jason Goepfert, consultant at White Oak Consultancy and the founder of SentimenTrader, the S&P 500 index was headed toward a rebound from a two-month low to a record high in just seven sessions on Wednesday. However, it didn’t close at a fresh record.

If the S&P 500 hits a new record high in Thursday’s session, it will be its second fastest rebound over eight sessions, with the first quickest rebound recorded on June 24, 1998.

Just barely missed yet another 97-year record in the S&P 500.

It was on track to cycle from a 2-month low to record high in only 7 sessions.

If it does so tomorrow (8 sessions), the only date that had a quicker rebound was Jun 24, 1998.
— Jason Goepfert (@jasongoepfert) January 22, 2025

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep an eye on for the rest of the week:

On Thursday, initial jobless claims data till Jan. 18, will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

On Friday, S&P flash services PMI and manufacturing PMI will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Existing home sales for December and consumer sentiment data for January will be released at 10 a.m., ET.

Stocks In Focus:

GE Aerospace GE was up 13.03% in premarket on Thursday ahead of its earnings before the opening bell. Analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of $1.04 per share on revenue of $9.60 billion.

American Airlines Group Inc. AAL was up 0.75% as Wall Street expects it to report quarterly earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $13.40 billion before the opening bell.

Union Pacific Corp. UNP was up 0.29% ahead of its earnings before the opening bell. Analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of $2.78 per share on revenue of $6.14 billion.

Plexus Corp. PLXS was down 11.43% after it reported lower-than-expected first-quarter sales results and issued second-quarter revenue guidance below estimates.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. KNX was up 5.45% in premarket as it posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings results.

Vince Holding Corp. VNCE was up 47.23% as P180 acquired Sun Capital's majority stake in the company. Brendan Hoffman is expected to become CEO effective Feb. 3, replacing interim CEO David Stefko, who will remain on the board.

Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.13% to hover around $75.34 per barrel.

The gold spot index was down by 0.53% to $2,756.26 per ounce. The Dollar Index was up 0.01% at 108.20 level.

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday as Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200, and South Korea's Kospi index fell. Whereas, China's CSI 300, and Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose. European markets were also mixed.

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