US pre-open: Futures pointing higher ahead of data dump

Stocks on Wall Street looked set for a higher start although first they would have to navigate a slew of fresh economic reports, many of which it was thought might yield surprises.

Ahead of those reports, investors were mulling the previous night's rate hike by the Federal Reserve and its shift to data dependency going forwards.

"If price action is a tell, investors are pleased with a purposeful Powell who is offering markets some breathing room to find that soft landing," said Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at SPI Asset Management.

"Even more so as inflation ebbs across several indicators allowing the Fed to pause in September comfortably. It’s data dependence over forward guidance going forward."

As at 1236 BST, Dow Jones mini futures were adding 34.0 points to 35,718.0, alongside a 185.0 point gain for those on the Nasdaq-100 to 15,795.75.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures meanwhile were climbing 0.93% to $79.52 a barrel on the NYMEX.

According to Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a preliminary reading for second quarter gross domestic product could come in nearer 3.0% thanks to inventory building, instead of the 1.8% anticipated by the consensus.

Similarly, bumper orders for Boeing might see durable goods orders for June climb by 3.0% (consensus: 1.0%).

There was a "decent chance" on the other hand that weekly jobless claims might rise back to 265,000.

Ahead of those releases, all scheduled for 1330 BST, Meta stock was jumping 9% on the back of its quarterly results.

E-Bay shares were down 6% alongside before the opening bell after the online retailer delivered a soft outlook overnight.

Southwest Airlines was down 7% after reporting that earnings had not returned to their pre-pandemic levels.

Chip-making giant Intel was due to report results after the close of Thursday's session.