US pre-open: Futures higher as investors await fresh batch of economic data

Wall Street futures were pointing to a positive start to trading ahead of the bell on Thursday as market participants awaited a fresh batch of economic data.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.08%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.44% and 0.88% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 337.28 points higher on Wednesday, its second record close this week as investors were dialled in on Q3 earnings from the likes of Morgan Stanley.

Tech stocks were in the green prior to the opening bell after Taiwan Semiconductor posted unexpectedly strong Q3 results, sending US counterparts Nvidia, AMD and Super Micro Computers higher early on Thursday.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Despite a sizeable pullback on Tuesday, both the Dow and S&P are back within a gnat's crotchet of their respective all-time highs. Having broken above 5,800 for the first time last Friday, the S&P is already closing in on 5,900.

"The economic background feels solid. Inflation seems under control, and the labour market remains robust, while not tight enough anymore for the Fed to worry about excessive wage demands feeding through to higher prices. Add in the high probability of further rate cuts before year-end, then the path of least resistance points higher for equities, with the earnings season providing an additional tailwind, for now. What could possibly go wrong?"

In terms of Thursday's domestic corporate headlines, Uber was said to have explored a possible bid for travel booking website operator Expedia, according to the Financial Times, a move that would easily mark the ridesharing giant's biggest acquisition to date, while aluminium manufacturer Alcoa traded higher in pre-market on the back of quarterly adjusted earnings that topped expectations.

Still to come, Travelers and Blackstone will report earnings on Thursday.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be out at 1330 BST, as will September retail sales and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's October manufacturing survey, while September industrial production figures were slated for 1415 BST, and the NAHB's October housing market index and August business inventories data will follow at 1500 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com