Nasdaq futures gain 1% ahead of weekly jobless claims data

By Shivani Kumaresan

© Reuters/BRENDAN MCDERMID
FILE PHOTO: People are seen on Wall St. outside the NYSE in New York

(Reuters) – Futures tracking the Nasdaq jumped about 1% on Thursday, as tech-related stocks climbed ahead of weekly jobless claims data, while reassurance that the Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra dovish stance for a longer period supported sentiment.

Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc rose between 0.8% and 1% in premarket trading.

High-growth tech stocks have recovered in recent sessions as U.S. 10-year bond yields backed off from their 14-month highs.

The most timely report of the U.S. economic health is expected to show the number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits dropped in the latest week, a further sign that the labor market’s conditions were improving.

The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

The central bank acknowledged an improving economic outlook buoyed by massive fiscal spending and accelerating vaccinations, minutes released on Wednesday showed. However, the policymakers noted it would be “some time” before conditions improve enough for the Fed to rein in its support.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a virtual International Monetary Fund event at 1200 ET (1600 GMT).

The S&P 500 and the Dow ended a choppy session near their record highs on Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is still more than 3% below its February all-time high.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 1.5% as Jefferies bumped up its price target on the e-commerce firm’s stock.

Tesla Inc rose about 1% on the Joe Biden administration’s $174 billion proposal to boost electric vehicles.

At 6:41 a.m. EDT, Dow E-minis were up 14 points, or 0.04%, with 26,026 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 stock futures up 0.37% Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 130 points, or 0.96%

(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)