U.S. Stock Index Futures Muted

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Thursday, following record closing highs for the major indexes in the previous session, with traders focusing on upcoming employment data this week.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and blue-chip Dow all reached record closing highs on Wednesday, driven by technology shares rallying due to positive results from Salesforce and Marvell Technology.

In a statement on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the economy is currently stronger than previously expected in September, suggesting a slower pace for interest-rate cuts in the future.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly stated there is "no sense of urgency" regarding cutting rates, while comments from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin were anticipated later in the day.

Traders are currently estimating a 74% chance of a 25-basis-point easing in monetary policy by the Fed later this month, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

On Thursday, market participants will be watching for a reading on weekly jobless claims, as attention turns to the key monthly jobs report due on Friday.

Economists at BNP Paribas cautioned that upcoming reports may be clouded by various special factors including weather impacts, the resolution of the Boeing strike, and election effects, suggesting an ambiguous November jobs report, characterized by strong job growth but a slight rise in unemployment, alongside moderate pay gains. This scenario keeps a December rate cut as the base case.

Although earnings season has drawn to a close, quarterly results from Dollar General and Kroger will still capture attention.

As of 5:08 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 9 points (0.02%), S&P 500 E-minis were down 1.25 points (0.02%), and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 22 points (0.1%).

In premarket trading, cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related stocks surged as Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time. Coinbase Global increased by 3.4%, MARA Holdings by 6.3%, and MicroStrategy by 6.1%.

Conversely, SentinelOne fell by 14.7% after missing Wall Street profit estimates for Q3, and Synopsys dropped 7.4% following its forecast of lower than expected fiscal 2025 revenue, attributed to a decline in China sales.