U.S. stock futures advanced on Thursday following Wednesday’s mixed moves. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher.
A 25-basis-point rate cut was delivered by the Federal Reserve, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaling more easing could be coming, as a part of “risk management” with the shift partly driven by a cooling labor market and growing downside risks to employment.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.05% and the two-year bond was at 3.52%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 89.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates in its October meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.75% |
| S&P 500 | 0.89% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 1.06% |
| Russell 2000 | 1.50% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.84% at $664.72, while the QQQ advanced 0.98% to $595.80, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed positively on Wednesday, with consumer staples, financial, and materials stocks posting the biggest gains. However, information technology and industrials bucked the market trend, closing lower. This contributed to a mixed settlement for U.S. stocks.
Among individual companies, General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS) reported fiscal 2026 first-quarter results that came in slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations. In contrast, Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) shares fell more than 6% on Wednesday after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results.
Economic reports showed U.S. housing starts dipping 8.5% month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.307 million units in August, missing market estimates of 1.37 million and following a revised 1.429 million in the previous month. Building permits also declined by 3.7% to an annualized rate of 1.312 million in August.
The Dow Jones index ended 260 points or 0.57% higher at 46,018.32, whereas the S&P 500 index fell 0.097% to 6,600.35. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.33% to 22,261.33, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, gained 0.18% to end at 2,407.34.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.33% | 22,261.33 |
| S&P 500 | -0.097% | 6,600.35 |
| Dow Jones | 0.57% | 46,018.32 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.18% | 2,407.34 |
Insights From Analysts
As the Federal Reserve enters the second year of its monetary easing, which began in September 2024, history suggests the S&P 500 could see substantial growth. On average, the index has returned over 16% in the second year of rate-cutting cycles. However, this optimistic outlook depends entirely …