Today’s Stock Market: Wall Street Steadies After Record-Breaking Session

Wall Street remained calm before the bell on Thursday, following another record-breaking day driven by the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence technology.

Premarket trading saw futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dip by 0.1%, while futures for the S&P 500 remained unchanged.

Lululemon Athletica saw a significant rise of over 8% ahead of the market opening, driven by its stronger-than-expected first-quarter sales and profit results that surpassed Wall Street’s targets.

Vista Outdoors also jumped more than 8% after MNC Capital Partners announced an increased all-cash bid of $39.50 per share for the company, raising the total offer to over $3 billion from a previous $37.50 per share.

Conversely, New York software company Sprinklr plunged by more than 22%, even though it surpassed Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit expectations. The fall was due to disappointing full-year revenue guidance.

Friday’s release of the May jobs report by the U.S. government is anticipated to be the most significant market-moving event. Despite higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve aiming to reduce inflation, the labor market has remained stronger than expected. However, some recent data, including this week’s report showing job openings at their lowest since 2022, indicate possible softening.

The Federal Reserve closely monitors the labor market and wages when deciding on adjustments to its benchmark borrowing rate. The Federal Reserve is expected to refrain from changing rates for the seventh consecutive time in its meeting next week.

In Europe, investors were awaiting an interest rate policy decision from the European Central Bank at midday. It is anticipated that the bank will cut its key interest rate from a record 4% later in the day. France’s CAC 40 and Britain’s FTSE 100 each climbed 0.5%, while Germany’s DAX rose by 0.7%.

Asian markets saw Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index increase by 0.6% to 38,703.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.3% to 18,480.61, while the Shanghai Composite index declined by 0.5% to 3,048.79.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced by 0.7% to 7,821.80 following data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a rebound in the country’s trading surplus for April, with exports falling 2.5% and imports dropping 7.2%.

Taiwan’s Taiex surged by 1.9%, although Foxconn’s shares dropped 1.2% despite the company reporting a 22% year-on-year revenue increase for May, marking a record high for the month.

In India, the Sensex rose by 0.7% following the news that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition secured a majority in parliament on Wednesday. In contrast, Bangkok’s SET fell by 0.6%.

South Korean markets were closed for a holiday.

U.S. benchmark crude oil saw a rise of 70 cents to $74.77 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased by 65 cents to $79.06 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar appreciated to 156.19 Japanese yen from 156.10 yen. The euro edged slightly down to $1.0867 from $1.0868.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 climbed by 1.2% to 5,354.03, while the Nasdaq composite surged by 2% to 17,187.90, both setting records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, with less focus on tech stocks, lagged with a 0.2% gain to 38,807.33.

The rally elevated the market value of Nvidia, the leading company in the AI boom, above $3 trillion for the first time.

Nvidia is at the forefront of the AI surge as its chips are critical in the technology’s development. After a 5.2% increase on Wednesday, the stock was up another 1.7% in premarket trading on Thursday, nearing a 150% gain for the year.