TSX runs higher on rate cut expectations
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* GameStop jumps as Ryan Cohen to be made chairman
* Big Tech rises in premarket trading
* Alibaba up as Jefferies raises price target
* Futures: Dow down 0.08%, S&P up 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.8%
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Medha Singh
April 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to
open higher on Thursday, buoyed by tech-related stocks, a day
after the Federal Reserve reiterated its pledge to remain
ultra-dovish until an economic recovery is more secure.
Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O Facebook Inc
FB.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rose between 0.8% and 1% in
premarket trading.
High-growth tech stocks have recovered in recent sessions as
U.S. 10-year bond yields US10YT=RR backed off from their
14-month highs.
Latest data showed the number of Americans filing new claims
for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but the
increase likely understates the rapidly improving labor market
conditions. The Fed acknowledged the economy was on its path to a strong
rebound backed by massive fiscal spending and accelerating
vaccinations, minutes released on Wednesday showed. However, the
central bank noted it would be "some time" before conditions
improve enough for the Fed to rein in its support.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a virtual
International Monetary Fund event at 1200 ET (1600 GMT).
The first-quarter earnings season begins in earnest next
week with results from big U.S. banks. Analysts have raised
expectations for first-quarter S&P 500 earnings increase to
24.2%, according to Refinitiv IBES data as of April 1, versus
21% forecast on Feb. 5.
"The next big catalyst for the markets will be earnings,"
said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital
Securities in New York.
"This is going to be an important earnings season as it is
the first quarter in comparison to a full year of the pandemic."
The S&P 500 and the Dow ended a choppy session near their
record highs on Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is still
more than 3% below its February all-time high. At 08:51 a.m. EDT, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 26 points,
or 0.08%, with 33,472 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 EScv1
stock futures were up 0.28% . Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up
112.25 points, or 0.83%.
The so-called "meme stock" GameStop Corp GME.N rose about
4.5% as the company intends to elect activist investor Ryan
Cohen as chairman, putting him in the driver's seat as he looks
to transform the videogame retailer. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba BABA.N rose 1.2% as
Jefferies bumped up its price target on the e-commerce firm's
stock.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O edged 0.9% higher on the Joe Biden
administration's $174 billion proposal to boost electric
vehicles.