Editor’s Note: The ETFs tracking benchmark indices, lede, economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.
U.S. stock futures were lower on Thursday, as the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices fell, following Wednesday’s higher close.
First-time filings for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, representing a drop of 6,000 claims from the prior week’s revised total. The four-week moving average for initial claims also edged down slightly to 197,750.
Reuters reported the U.S. State Department also ordered some diplomats and family members to leave its missions in Saudi Arabia following Houthi attacks. Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is willing to resume diplomacy with President Donald Trump‘s administration and added that Iran would reconsider negotiations if Washington genuinely committed to building trust and reaching a fair agreement. “But if US chooses war over diplomacy, it’ll certainly result in an even greater strategic failure,” he wrote.
Also, Asian markets retreated Thursday as reports that the U.S. and Israel have drawn up plans for potential renewed strikes on Iran after the November midterm elections heightened geopolitical uncertainty
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.08%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.77%, at the last check. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in an 87.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged after its October meeting.
Thursday’s heavy earnings slate also includes Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT), Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT), Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC), and Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
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, were lower in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.87% at $766.37, while the QQQ declined 1.52% to $714.20.
Stocks In Focus
Meta Platforms
- Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 1.14% lower in premarket trading on Thursday despite beating third-quarter 2026 earnings. It reported earnings of $7.40 per share on revenue of $64.60 billion, versus estimates of $5.74 per share and $63.37 billion, after the closing bell on Wednesday.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that META maintains a positive price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score.
Tesla
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 5.36% in premarket trading despite beating third-quarter 2026 earnings expectations. Its earnings came in at $0.48 per share on revenue of $28.05 billion, versus estimates of $0.43 per share and $27.88 billion, after the closing bell on Wednesday.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSLA maintains a positive price trend in the short and medium terms but a negative trend in the long term, with a poor value score.
Lam Research
- Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) dropped 8.94% in premarket trading on Thursday after it reported first-quarter 2027 earnings of $2.20 per share on revenue of $8.22 billion, versus estimates of $2.18 per share and $8.15 billion, after the closing bell on Wednesday. On the guidance, CFO Doug Bettinger said that it "would have been a bit higher" without near-term supply constraints.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that LRCX maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a strong quality score.
IBM
- International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) was 5.82% lower in premarket trading on Thursday despite beating third-quarter earnings. It reported adjusted earnings of $2.95 per share on revenue of $17.10 billion, versus estimates of $2.86 per share and $16.82 billion, after the closing bell on Wednesday.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that IBM maintains a positive price trend in the short term but a negative trend in the medium and long terms, with a strong quality score.
Western Digital
- Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) was 2.92% lower in premarket trading on Thursday as analysts expect first-quarter 2027 earnings of $4.08 per share and revenue of $4.13 billion after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that WDC maintains a negative price trend in the short and medium terms but a positive trend in the long term, with a strong growth score.
Cues From Last Session
Information technology rose 1.67%, industrials added 0.91%, and financials gained 0.57%, while communication services fell 1.11%, real estate slipped 0.76%, and consumer staples declined 0.73%.
Insights From Analysts
Jeremy Siegel, senior economist to WisdomTree and emeritus professor of finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that the AI buildout has become a key force shaping technology stocks, long-term interest rates, and rotation between growth and value.
He said, “The biggest driver of long-term rates right now is not oil and may not even be what the Federal Reserve does at its next meeting. It is the enormous demand for capital associated with the AI buildout.”
Siegel also said that if AI spending or token demand disappoints, he could see “a 20% to 30% correction in Nasdaq,” while the S&P 500 could decline “only 5% to 10%.”
He added, “I still do not expect the Fed to raise rates in October,” while calling December less certain and saying he would put the probability of a hike “extremely high.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
- Initial Jobless Claims: For the week ending October 17, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims fell by 6,000 to a total of 194,000. The four-week moving average for initial claims also saw a slight decline, edging down to 197,750.
- September’s leading indicators data will be out by 10:00 a.m., and October’s Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey will be released by 11:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.76% to hover around $99.83 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 1.36% to hover around $4,085 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.17% lower at the 101.5185 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading at $81,722 per coin, down nearly 1.5% over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were lower on Thursday, as Australia’s ASX 200, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea’s Kospi, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were lower in early trading.
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