US pre-open: Futures hold steady ahead of economic data

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures were pointing to a flat start on Wall Street on Thursday as investors paused for breath ahead of a long weekend, with yet more economic data on tap. Thursday's calendar will see revisions to fourth-quarter GDP figures, as well as weekly initial jobless claims and pending home sales. On Friday, when markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday, we'll see the release of the all-important PCE price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation.

S&P 500 futures were holding steady in pre-market trade after strong gains on Wednesday sent the index to another all-time closing high of 5,258.49. The Dow and Nasdaq were also unchanged ahead of the opening bell.

Making headlines on Thursday was Fed governor Chris Waller who said that the central bank was in "no rush" to cut interest rates in light of stubborn inflation levels and stronger-than-expected labour-market data. Recent data "tells me that it is prudent to hold this rate at its current restrictive stance perhaps for longer than previously thought to help keep inflation on a sustainable trajectory toward 2%," he said on Wednesday evening.

"The cautious stance from a number of Fed members does highlight a strong chance that the current pricing of a June rate hike might be somewhat optimistic," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. "All eyes now turn towards tomorrow's core PCE inflation gauge as a key driver of sentiment over what the Fed might do from here."

In the corporate space, Home Depot was in focus after revealing it is to acquire SRS, the specialty trade distributor that providers roofing materials and building supplies, for $18.25bn. Futures were trading flat ahead of the opening bell.

Walgreens Boots Alliance was rising strongly after the company released its second-quarter results and narrowed its full-year guidance, adding that it was confident in hitting its target of $1bn in cost savings this year.