Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on January 17, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures oscillated near the flat line on Thursday night.
Futures linked to the broad market index inched higher by 0.04%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 21 points or 0.06%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%..
In extended trading, iRobot plunged 40% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the European Commission would likely reject Amazon’s bid to acquire the Roomba manufacturer. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, Congress also passed a bill to avert a partial government shutdown. This stopgap measure keeps the federal government funded through March 1 and March 8. The Senate voted 77-18 to pass the bill, while the House voted to move it forward, 314-108. The bill goes to President Joe Biden for signing.
During the regular session, the Dow added 201.94 points during Thursday’s trading session, ending a 3-day string of losing days. The S&P 500 added 0.88%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.35%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are now positive for 2024.
On a weekly basis, the Nasdaq is standing out with a 0.55% advance, while the Dow is down 0.33%. The S&P 500 is marginally lower by 0.06%.
Thursday’s gains were powered by major advances in the technology sector, after Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple to a buy rating. Apple stock closed 3.3% higher, marking its best day since May 5, 2023. Tech shares rallied even as the 10-year Treasury yield topped 4.1%.
As earnings season continues, investors will be keeping a close eye on company financials for market clarity.
“I think you’ll see the ten-year yield chopping around 4% or so and the market just going back and forth here until we get some better information from earnings season,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. “That could persist for a good part of the year … and then you get the election, things get resolved, and people get more positive into the fourth quarter.”
A slew of financial institutions are set to report earnings Friday before the bell, including Travelers, Regions Financial, Fifth Third, Ally Financial and State Street. Traders will watch out for December’s existing home sales reading, a reflection on the current state of the U.S. housing market. Preliminary consumer sentiment data is also due Friday morning.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated that European regulators said they would likely reject Amazon’s bid to acquire iRobot.
