Stock Market Today: Stocks rebound with jobs and GDP in focus; Micron jumps

Published 4:01 am Thursday, December 21, 2023

Check bank for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures bounced back Thursday as investors looked to retrace last night’s late-session pullback, which ended a two-week winning streak on Wall Street. 

Stocks tumbled over the final two hours of trading, lead to the downside by a 1.5% decline for the Nasdaq, even as Treasury bond yields extended their recent rally and underlying economic data showed stronger-than-expected existing-home sales and a firm move higher in consumer confidence. 

Trading volumes were thin, however, and some analysts put the decline down to both late-year profit-taking and a surge in so-called OTDE options, which expire within 24 hours. 

Micron’s  (MU) – Get Free Report narrower-than-expected fiscal-first-quarter loss, which was posted after the close of trading, and the chipmaker’s solid near-term outlook provided an overnight boost for U.S. equity futures, while limiting losses in Asia. 

Related: Micron surges on outlook for AI-powered-chip sales and narrower Q1 loss

The ongoing rally in Treasuries is also likely to give markets a further lift ahead of weekly jobless claims and third-quarter GDP data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last marked 3 basis points (0.03 percentage point) lower at 4.884% while 2-year notes were 1 basis point lower at 4.375%.

In other markets, oil prices slipped lower following Energy Department data showing record U.S. production of 13.3 million barrels a day. Alongside a 2.9 million increase in stockpiles at the key delivery hub in Cushing, Okla., the report added to concern about a pullback in global demand. 

Brent crude contracts for February delivery were last marked 24 cents lower at $79.46 a barrel while WTI contracts for the same month, the new U.S. benchmark, fell 20 cents to $74.02 per barrel.

On Wall Street futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up 4.4% for the month, are indicating a 22 point opening-bell gain. Those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are suggesting a 158-point advance. 

The Nasdaq, which is getting help from a 6% premarket gain from Micron, is called 106 points higher.

In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.5% lower in early Frankfurt trading while Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.49% in London.

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.59% lower from its latest 33-year high to end at 33,140.47 points, while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index slipped 0.18% into the close of trading.

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