US Stocks Likely To Open On A Mixed Note After Dow Snaps Four-Day Run: 'Powell And The Fed Are Doing The Right Thing Holding Rates,' Says Expert

U.S. stock futures were flat on Thursday after a mixed close on Wednesday. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed in premarket.

The tepid move followed ADP data showing that the private payroll additions tumbled in May as weak consumer sentiment and trade policy uncertainty weighed on hiring.

"ADP number out!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now lower the rate. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered nine times!" Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the release.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.35% and the two-year bond was at 3.87%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its June meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.12% at $596.66, while the QQQ advanced 0.10% to $529.30, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index snapping a four-session winning streak.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended positively on Wednesday, with communication services, materials, and real estate stocks leading the gains on Wednesday.

However, energy and utilities stocks underperformed, closing the session in the red.

Yext Inc. YEXT shares soared over 31% after the company raised its FY26 adjusted EPS guidance above estimates. Dollar Tree Inc. DLTR shares fell over 8% following its first-quarter results.

On the economic data front, the ISM services PMI dropped to 49.9 in May from 51.6 the prior month, missing market expectations of 52. U.S. private businesses added 37K workers to payrolls in May, down from a revised 60K in the previous month.

The Dow Jones index ended 92 points or 0.22% lower at 42,427.74, whereas the S&P 500 index rose 0.0074% to 5,970.81. Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.32% to 19,460.49, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, gained 0.21% to end at 2,098.48.

Insights From Analysts:

Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, backed the Federal Reserve's choice to maintain interest rates, while strongly condemning President Trump's trade and tariff strategies, as well as the fiscal expansion fueling inflation.

In a Wednesday post on X, Gerber stated that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was "doing the right thing" by keeping interest rates unchanged, awaiting a clearer picture of Trump's tariff effects.

Gerber contends that if Trump desires lower interest rates, he should steer clear of inflation-driving policies like the inflationary tariff approach and the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which will likely increase the fiscal deficit and national debt.

The GOP bill, which narrowly passed the House in May, includes significant tax cuts paired with heightened spending on defense, manufacturing, and infrastructure.

"If Trump wants lower rates, then he should stop working on creating inflation through vast amounts of money printing," he said.

Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates said that tariff negotiations with China were “hitting an impasse,” thus he added “a call between President Xi Jinping and President Trump may be imminent.”

Contrary to Gerber’s view, Navellier said that “The Fed has said inflation is its main priority, but a weak payroll report could cause the Fed to key interest rates sooner rather than later.”

Meanwhile, Adam Turnquist, the chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, hinted in his technical analysis that it was "easier to digest" the Nasdaq 100 index's premium valuation given the growth optimism for 2025 and 2026.

“A jump in expected operating margins from 18.0% in 2024 to 23.8% in 2025 and 25.6% in 2026 makes the premium valuation easier to digest (along with the AI-themed tailwinds)," explained Turnquist.

From a technical perspective, Turnquist suggests that the index's "Momentum remains bullish after the recent reset from overbought levels." The Nasdaq 100 has rallied out of a bear market in less than two months.

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep an eye on Thursday:

• The initial jobless claims data for the week ended May 31, April U.S. trade deficit, and first quarter’s U.S. productivity data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler will speak at noon, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker will speak at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Stocks In Focus:

• Ciena Corp. CIEN rose 3.41% in premarket on Tuesday as analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of 52 cents per share on revenue of $1.09 billion, before the opening bell.
• Toro Co. TTC declined 1.43% ahead of its earnings, which are supposed to be released before the opening bell. Analysts expect earnings of $1.39 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion.
• Broadcom Inc. AVGO was up 0.70% as analysts expect it to report quarterly earnings of $1.56 per share on revenue of $14.99 billion, after the closing bell.
• PVH Corp. PVH dropped 8.86% after it cut fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance from a range of $12.40 to $12.75 to a new range of $10.75 to $11, versus the $12.52 analyst estimate.
• MongoDB Inc. MDB jumped 15.16% after it reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results for fiscal 2026 after the market closed on Wednesday. It also raised its outlook for fiscal 2026.
• Mullen Automotive Inc. MULN fell 18.01% after it announced that it entered into securities purchase agreements following its 1-for-100 reverse stock split on Wednesday.
• Five Below Inc. FIVE gained 5.39% after it beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter.
• ChargePoint Holdings Inc. CHPT was 12.92% lower after it reported losses of six cents per share, which met the analyst consensus estimate. Quarterly revenue comes in at $97.64 million, which missed the Street estimate of $100.53 million.
• Planet Labs PBC PL surged 19.05% after its first-quarter revenue came in at $66.27 million, beating the $62.3 million Street estimate. The company sees second-quarter revenue in a range of $65 million to $67 million, versus the $65.19 million estimate.

Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.38% to hover around $63.09 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.30% to hover around $3,382.45 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was higher by 0.07% at the 98.8540 level.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as Japan's Nikkei 225 and Australia's ASX 200 indices fell. While India's S&P BSE Sensex, South Korea's Kospi, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices advanced. European markets were higher in early trade.

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