Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 05, 2026 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose early Thursday after the blue-chip index closed at a record high, as investors looked ahead to another round of corporate earnings.
Dow futures added 157 points, or 0.29%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.17%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.23% lower.
Wall Street is looking ahead to another busy day of earnings on Thursday, with Warner Bros. Discovery on deck before the bell. Airbnb and Lyft are slated to report after the bell.
Meanwhile, the first lockup of SpaceX shares is set to expire, with over 900 million shares poised to be released into the market. The staggered approach gives early investors their first opportunity to sell, which could weigh on the share price.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.93%, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 4.58%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.47% and mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.15% lower.
But European stocks opened in broadly positive territory on Thursday while tech stocks stabilized on the continent after the sell-off in Asia.
In regular trading, the Dow rose 263.24 points, or 0.49%, for a record close and its fifth positive day in a row. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.17% and snapped a four-day win streak. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83%.
Investors have also been encouraged by signs that tensions in the Middle East could ease, which has put oil on a cooling trend in recent days.
However, inflation is still in focus for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who said on Wednesday that she is “prepared to act” on an interest rate hike unless signs of continued disinflation emerge.
“With five years of above-target inflation, the risk grows that higher inflation may become entrenched in price- and wage-setting behavior, leading to persistence that would be much harder for us to attack,” she said during a speech in Anchorage, Alaska. “The longer inflation is above target, the more likely this scenario becomes.”
In economic data, weekly jobless claims are due on Thursday morning. The main event will be July’s payrolls report, which will be out on Friday morning.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed reporting.
