US pre-open: Futures trade higher following yesterday's losses

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Thursday after registering some heavy losses in the previous session. As of 1255 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.40%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.53% and 0.71% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 475.92 points lower on Wednesday as investors indulged in a little bit of profit-taking, snapping the blue-chip's winning streak at nine-straight sessions.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "US markets will hope to stabilise after yesterday's slump, with the Dow suffering its worst day's performance since March. With markets already struggling to wrap their head around the continued efforts from Fed members to reign in rate cut expectations, the recent rise in energy prices does increase the risk of a resurgence for inflation going forward.

"The longer we see energy prices rise, the longer we are likely to wait until the Federal Reserve are willing to cut interest rates. The strength of the US economy is key within that, with yesterday's surprisingly strong consumer confidence reading serving to highlight the risk that a strong economy allows the Fed to keep rates elevated for a longer time."

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department will be out at 1330 GMT, as will a third-quarter gross domestic product reading, while the Kansas Fed's December manufacturing activity survey was slated for release at 1600 GMT.

In the corporate space, Micron shares traded higher in pre-market after beating Wall Street expectations with its first-quarter numbers, while Salesforce got a boost from an upgrade by analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Still to come, sportswear giant Nike will report its latest set of earnings after the close of trading.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com