US stock futures were little changed Thursday as Wall Street failed to build back momentum in a recovery effort from its recent rout. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were flat, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.2%.
Wall Street saw a comeback attempt falter on Wednesday, as stocks faded into the close and ended up with sizable declines. The moves — from big gains to significant losses — continued a turbulent stretch that has pervaded in markets for much of the past week.
On Thursday, a normally routine labor market update finds itself in the spotlight with the release of the report on initial weekly jobless claims.
A positive number could reassure traders about the state of the jobs market. A negative one has the potential to introduce more turbulence, as last week’s sluggish non-farm payrolls update served as one of the earliest catalysts of the recent declines.
In individual movers, “Magnificent 7” stalwart and AI giant Nvidia (NVDA) is in focus after another back-and-forth day left its stock down another 5%. It rose slightly in premarket trading.
Eli Lilly (LLY) was the highlight on the earnings docket. Its stock soared over 10% in premarket trading after boosting its annual revenue and profit forecasts on strong weight-loss drug sales.
