Wall Street futures pointed solidly higher pre-bell Thursday following Micron Technology's strong Q4 earnings release late Wednesday, and after renewed Beijing promises to boost China's economy triggered rallies on Asian exchanges. Micron Technology traded up 15% pre-bell after the memory chipmaker reported fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue above expectations, forecasting a robust fiscal Q1, thus reigniting interest in AI-related shares.
In Beijing, the nation's Politburo vowed the 'necessary fiscal spending' required to reach its annual 5% gross domestic product, or GDP, growth target, and to support property markets, in statements that follow on recent monetary-easing moves by the People's Bank of China. The Hang Seng Mainland Property Index rose 16.5% in Hong Kong, and the broad-market Hang Seng Index closed up 4.2%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver pre-recorded remarks to the US Treasury Market conference at 9:20 am ET. In the futures, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq inclined 1.4% and the Dow Jones was up 0.5%. Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight, while European bourses tracked firmly north midday on the continent.
Accenture traded up 7.4% pre-bell after the consulting giant reported fiscal Q4 results above expectations and issued positive guidance. On the economic calendar is the durable goods orders for August, the Q2 revised GDP bulletin, the Q2 corporate profits release, and the weekly jobless claims report, all at 8:30 am.
The pending home sales index for August posts at 10 am, followed by the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am. The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for September posts at 11 am. Federal Reserve Boston President Susan Collins speaks at 9:10 am, Governor Michelle Bowman at 9:15 am, New York Fed President John Williams at 9:25 am, Vice Chair Michael Barr at 10:30 am, Governor Lisa Cook at 10:30 am, and Minneapolis Neel Kashkari at 1 pm.
In premarket action, Bitcoin traded at $64,397, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded lower at $68.44, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 3.78%. Spot gold traded for $2,672 an ounce, again testing all-time highs..