Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 10, 2024 in New York City. As new inflation data released today showed a continued rise, stocks fell across the board and the Dow Jones fell more than 400 points.
Spencer Platt | fake images
Stock futures wavered near the flat line Thursday evening as traders awaited the release of corporate earnings from major U.S. banks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures rose 18 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures they changed little.
The stock follows a strong rebound for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite as tech stocks led a rally following Wednesday's inflation-driven sell-off. On Thursday, the Nasdaq gained 1.68% to close at a record, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.74%. The action of 30 Dow fell 0.01%, recording its fourth consecutive day of losses.
Apple was among the names of the Magnificent Seven who demonstrated on Thursday. The iPhone maker rose 4.3% after Bloomberg News reported the company's plans to revamp its Mac products with new chips focused on artificial intelligence. Apple had its best day since May 2023.
Oh darling NVIDIA also rose 4.1%, and Amazon It jumped to an all-time high before closing up 1.7%.
Going forward, the tailwind of AI will be key in determining which stocks are leading the current bull run, said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.
"The current divergence between the Nasdaq and the Dow is quite telling... it is still a bifurcated market where everything is driven by AI." he told CNBC. "That's what we look for in the future, that's what we have to have to be sustainable."
Thursday's tech-focused rally pared the S&P 500's weekly losses, as it is now down 0.1% for the period. The Nasdaq is on track to close the week up 1.2%. The Dow Jones is underperforming and is headed for a 1.1% drop so far this week.
First-quarter earnings season begins in earnest on Friday, with a number of major U.S. financial institutions set to report their results before the bell rings. These include JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, citi group, Black Rock and state street.
