By 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 105 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 traded 16 points, or 0.3%, higher and NASDAQ Composite gained 52 points, or 0.3%.
Nvidia continues to shine
The tech sector, and Nvidia in particular, is likely to remain in the spotlight Thursday after the chipmaker became the world’s most valuable company earlier this week.
Nvidia has been a major beneficiary of a spike in enthusiasm around the applications of artificial intelligence, and is now worth $3.34 trillion. This makes it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), having overtaken Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) earlier this month.
Nvidia traded 2.5% higher, add another $100 billion or so to its market capitalization, after having gained 174% so far this year.
Elsewhere, Accenture (NYSE:ACN) stock over 7% after the IT services provider forecast annual revenue growth above estimates, as growing adoption of artificial intelligence offsets sluggish growth in enterprise spending.
Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT) stock fell 9%, adding to Tuesday’s 10% losses, after a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ruling allowed investors in the firm’s derivatives, known as warrants, to swap their holdings for shares in the company which can dilute long-time investors.
Winnebago (NYSE:WGO) stock fell 2.5% after the recreational vehicle maker’s fiscal third-quarter earnings disappointed, with elevated interest rates deterring buyers.
Economic data released earlier Thursday pointed to a slowing economy, with initial jobless claims coming in at 238,000, above the 235,000 expected, while housing starts slumped 5.5% in May.
A series of Fed officials have expressed caution about expecting rate cuts too soon, seeking more evidence that inflation has been tamed before the central bank would agree to easing monetary policy.
FOMC member Thomas Barkin is set to speak later in the session, and follows Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari saying it could take up to two years to get U.S. inflation back to the Federal Reserve’s medium-term target.
Kashkari, talking at the annual Michigan Bankers Association Convention earlier Thursday, said wage growth was too high to bring inflation back to the 2% target right now.
Crude slips on demand worries
Crude prices edged higher Thursday, ahead of the release of the official U.S. inventory data.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.6% at $81.20 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.8% to $85.78 per barrel.
There was no WTI settlement on Wednesday due to a U.S. holiday, which kept trading largely subdued.
Data released on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude stocks rose by just over 2 million barrels in the week ended June 14, suggesting weakening demand even during the important summer driving season.
The Energy Information Administration releases the official figures later Thursday, a day later than usual due to Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday.