US stock futures climb higher; Nvidia remains in demand

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures rose Thursday, with the tech sector leading the way ahead of the release of some employment and housing economic data.

By 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 45 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures traded 24 points, or 0.4%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 125 points, or 0.6%.

The main indices are on course for a winning week, with both the S&P 500 and the tech- heavy NASDAQ Composite reaching fresh records on Tuesday, led by gains from market darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

The stock market was closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Nvidia continues to shine

The tech sector, and Nvidia in particular, is likely to remain in the spotlight Thursday after the chipmaker became the world’s most valuable company earlier this week.

Nvidia has been a major beneficiary of a spike in enthusiasm around the applications of artificial intelligence, and is now worth $3.34 trillion. This makes it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), having overtaken Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) earlier this month.

Nvidia traded around 3% higher premarket, set to add another $130 billion or so to its market capitalization, after having gained 174% so far this year.

Elsewhere, Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT) stock fell over 5% premarket, adding to Tuesday’s 10% losses, after a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ruling allowed investors in the firm’s derivatives, known as warrants, to swap their holdings for shares in the company which can dilute long-time investors.

Fed should be “patient”

The economic data slate includes initial jobless claims figures and housing starts data later in the session, as investors look for more clues towards when the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.

A series of Fed officials have expressed caution about expecting rate cuts too soon, seeking more evidence that inflation has been tamed before the central bank would agree to easing monetary policy.

FOMC member Thomas Barkin is set to speak later in the session, and follows Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan saying on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank can stay patient on interest-rate policy.

"We're going to need to see several more months of that data to really have confidence in our outlook that we're heading to 2%," Logan said at an event in Austin, Texas. "We're in a good position, we're in a flexible position to watch the data and to be patient."

Crude slips on demand worries

Crude prices were stable Thursday, ahead of the release of the official U.S. inventory data.

By 06:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded flat at $80.72 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.2% to $85.25 per barrel.

There was no WTI settlement on Wednesday due to a U.S. holiday, which kept trading largely subdued.

Data released on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude stocks rose by just over 2 million barrels in the week ended June 14, suggesting weakening demand even during the important summer driving season.

The Energy Information Administration releases the official figures later Thursday, a day later than usual due to Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday.

The continued unrest in the oil-rich Middle East has provided a degree of support for the market, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warning of a possible "all out war" with Lebanon's Hezbollah, even as his country continues to battle Hamas in Gaza.

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