The major U.S. index futures are presently indicating a mixed opening on Friday, suggesting that the principal averages are poised to diverge once more. Despite a decline of 0.5 percent in the Nasdaq 100 futures, the Dow futures exhibit an increase of 0.2 percent. A slump by shares of Broadcom may weigh on the Nasdaq, as the chipmaker is tumbling by 5.4 percent in pre-market trading. Broadcom faces pressure even after delivering fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded expectations and offering positive guidance for the upcoming quarter. Chipmakers Advance Micro Devices and Micron Technology are experiencing pre-market weakness, which may indicate an ongoing rotation away from tech stocks.
The Dow appears poised to capitalize on the ongoing transition towards cyclical stocks, having surged to a new record closing high on Friday. The broader S&P 500 concluded the prior session at a new record closing high. Overall trading activity appears to be relatively subdued, as the absence of significant U.S. economic data is likely to result in some traders remaining on the sidelines. In early trading on Thursday, the major U.S. stock indexes exhibited contrasting movements, with the Dow experiencing a notable increase while the Nasdaq faced a considerable decline. Despite the Nasdaq recovering from its lowest points of the day, the technology-focused index ultimately finished lower by 60.30 points, reflecting a decline of 0.3 percent, closing at 23,593.86.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 increased by 14.32 points, reflecting a 0.2 percent rise, reaching 6,901.00, while the Dow surged by 646.26 points, marking a 1.3 percent gain, closing at a new record high of 48,704.01. The surge by the Dow partly reflected a sharp increase by shares of Visa, with the payment card services company spiking by 6.1 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the stock to Buy from Neutral. Strong gains by Nike, UnitedHealth, and American Express also contributed to the jump by the blue chip index. Conversely, a significant decline in Oracle’s shares exerted pressure on the Nasdaq, with the software giant experiencing a drop of 10.8 percent. The decline in Oracle’s stock followed the company’s announcement of fiscal second quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, yet revealed revenues that fell short of projections. Other AI-related stocks like Nvidia also moved to the downside, potentially reflecting renewed valuation concerns. On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report indicating that first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. experienced a greater-than-anticipated rebound in the week ending December 6th.
The report indicated that initial jobless claims increased to 236,000, reflecting a rise of 44,000 from the prior week’s adjusted figure of 192,000. Analysts had anticipated that jobless claims would rise to 220,000, up from the initially reported figure of 191,000 for the prior week. Gold stocks experienced a significant uptick in tandem with the price of the precious metal, as evidenced by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 4.3 percent to achieve a new record closing high. Substantial strength was also evident among steel stocks, as indicated by the 2.2 percent surge in the Steel Index. The index achieved its highest closing level in more than seventeen years. Banking and networking stocks exhibited significant strength during the day, whereas oil producer stocks experienced a decline in response to a sharp decrease in crude oil prices.