U.S. stock futures are higher, with the broad S&P 500 and Nasdaq already above regular day-session record highs in pre-market trade.
Micron’s strong quarterly results are re-fueling artificial intelligence optimism. Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are also higher in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new aim at Federal Reserve Chairman Powell may also accelerate bets for faster rate cuts.
For months, Trump has railed on Powell for holding interest rates steady. He’s now considering selecting and announcing Powell’s replacement early around September or October, or even summer if Trump really gets fed up, the Wall Street Journal said. An early announcement would allow the new pick to make policy and interest rate comments in the background and undermine Powell.
Lower interest rates makes borrowing less expensive, which encourages companies and individuals to spend more and boost the economy.
Around 7:45 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow added 0.24%, or 104 points, to 43,410, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.33%, or 20 points, to 6,167.00, which tops the S&P 500’s prior record of 6,144.15 set on Feb. 19. The tech-laden Nasdaq futures gained 0.49%, or 110.5 points, to 22,571.50, also above its Feb. 19 record high of 22,190.52.
Powell just wrapped up two-days of testimony before Congress, reiterating his wait-and-see approach to interest rates. He stuck to his script, saying he wanted to wait to see the effects of tariffs on inflation, the economy and the labor market before making any interest rate decisions.
Before the bell, investors will see weekly jobless claims before the opening bell as another clue to the health of the labor market and gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first three months of the year to see how fast the economy grew.
Powell, known for being data-dependent for his interest rate decisions, will get more of it, including inflation data, at the end of the week.
The Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation is expected to have risen 2.3% in May on an annual basis, with the core rate excluding food and energy up 2.6%. Most economists expect those numbers to continue rising this summer.
Along with inflation data, investors will also get a glimpse of consumer spending through personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, data. Consumer spending makes up roughly two-thirds of economic activity.
Micron’s results topped analysts’ forecasts in the third fiscal quarter. The maker of memory and storage products also issued guidance for the last three months of its fiscal year that was above expectations. Shares rose 2.05% in pre-market trade.
H.B. Fuller topped estimates for the latest quarter and issued a strong full-year outlook. Share jumped 10.46% before the open.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions plans to sell $500 million of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Shares dropped 6.69% ahead of the open.
Investment bank Jefferies’ quarterly results missed analysts’ forecasts. Shares slipped 2.45% in pre-market activitiy.
