A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on October 20, 2023.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures rose slightly on Thursday as the market tried to regain its footing after another losing session.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.7%. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained almost unchanged.
Apple shares rose more than 1% premarket after Bank of America upgraded them to buy, forecasting upside of more than 20% over the next 12 months.
Wall Street has endured a losing streak for major averages as Treasury yields have risen. On Wednesday, the 30-stock Dow fell 0.25%, posting its third straight loss. The S&P 500 slipped 0.56% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.59%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have fallen in consecutive days.
During the session, the 10-year Treasury yield topped 4.1%. On Thursday it fell again to around 4.07%.
Investors feared that a strong December retail sales report suggesting resilient consumer spending could lead to fewer interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve than many expected. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are currently pricing in about a 56 percent chance of a quarter-percentage point rate cut in March.
“The fact that the Fed isn't talking about raising rates is a good thing, but the fact that the market is pricing in six rate cuts is a problem,” Morgan Stanley Managing Director Chris Toomey said Wednesday on CNBC's ” Closing Bell.” .
“If you look at the fourth quarter, a lot of that performance came from chases, right, and chases and chases,” Toomey continued. “And now people are like, 'Wait, do I really want to own this thing at this level?' And when interest rates rise, many weak hands will sell.”
On the economic front, weekly unemployment claims as well as data on housing starts and building permits are the order of the day on Thursday morning. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will also give a speech.
Discover shares fell 9% in the premarket. The credit card company reported that its net charge-off rate increased in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. Discover reported fourth-quarter revenue of $4.20 billion, beating estimates of $4.10 billion, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.