© Reuters
By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures pointed broadly lower on Thursday, but held relatively near the flatline, ahead of a slate of fresh data that could provide more clues about the state of the world’s largest economy.
At 07:25 ET (12:25 GMT), the contract dipped by 21 points or 0.06%, traded 6 points or 0.16% lower, and tech-focused moved down by 28 points or 0.22%.
All the major indexes finished Wednesday in the green, erasing losses earlier in the session, as investors digested higher-than-expected figures for January which suggested that the may continue hiking interest rates.
The blue-chip closed up by 38 points or 0.11%, the broad-based rose by 11 points of 0.28%, and the gained 110 points or 0.92%.
Investors will have a chance to gauge further economic numbers out of the U.S. today, including the January , which is widely seen as a barometer of the current supply chain environment, as well as weekly and figures.
In the corporate sector, Bloomin Brands Inc (NASDAQ:) and Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:) are among the highlights on the day’s earnings calendar, along with DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:) after the bell.
Elsewhere, touched its highest mark in half a year, with the biggest cryptocurrency exchanging hands near $25,000. The move comes after a series of regulatory announcements regarding the crypto industry, along with a move by coin exchange Binance to settle a probe by U.S. officials.
Oil prices gained as optimism over a recovery in Chinese demand overshadowed a surge in the U.S. crude inventories.
U.S. crude oil stocks soared last week by just over 16 million barrels, according to data from the , released on Wednesday. Although this resulted in the stocks climbing to the highest level since June 2021, the EIA added that the hefty build was largely due to a data adjustment, which has diluted its impact.
Additionally, data released Thursday showed that China’s January air passenger traffic rose 34.8% from a year earlier, suggesting that demand from the world’s largest importer of crude will bounce back relatively quickly after its decision to abandon its strict zero-COVID policy.
By 07:25 ET, U.S. rose 0.31% to $78.83 a barrel, while the contract climbed 0.23% to $85.58.
Additionally, traded 0.11% higher at $1,847.40/oz, while was 0.12% higher at 1.0702.
