By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma
(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures barely budged on Thursday, as results from Taiwan’s TSMC failed to shake investors from their cautious mood following a rollercoaster session marked by concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence.
At 06:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 39 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 19.5 points, or 0.08%.
U.S. chipmakers edged up in premarket trading after TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced AI chips, posted a record quarterly profit, saying demand for artificial intelligence was getting stronger.
U.S.-listed shares of TSMC gained 3.8%, Advanced Micro Devices added 0.5%, Marvell inched up 0.2% and Nvidia added 0.6%.
Netflix edged 0.6% higher ahead of its quarterly results after the markets close.
United Airlines fell 2.5% after the U.S. carrier flagged a hit to its third-quarter earnings from operational snags at Newark airport.
“The market is underestimating the potential for a big U.S. earnings beat in the second quarter. Recent data on economic activity shows few signs of troubling weakness,” HSBC analysts said.
Wall Street ended the previous session with modest gains, with the Nasdaq soaring to yet another record high.
Markets briefly tumbled in the previous session – dropping as much as 1% – after reports surfaced that President Donald Trump was considering firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Although Trump swiftly denied the reports, his ongoing criticism of the central bank and hints at possible action kept investors on edge about the Fed’s independence.
Fed officials have resisted cutting rates until there is clarity on whether Trump’s tariffs on U.S. trading partners reignite inflation.
The media reports on Wednesday sent odds of a September rate cut soaring to 66%, up from 54% earlier in the day.
Currently, traders see a 54.3% chance of cutting in September, while a July move is almost completely off the table, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, attention also remained on looming tariffs, with an August 1 deadline threatening higher levies for many U.S. trading partners.
Trump told Real America’s Voice on Wednesday that the U.S. is closing in on a deal with India and may soon reach an agreement with Europe as well.
Investors will also be eyeing June retail sales data, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, for fresh insight into consumer spending. Economists polled by Reuters expect monthly retail sales to have increased 0.1% last month.
Additionally, weekly jobless claims numbers are also due for the day, alongside June trade data. At least four Fed officials, including Board Governors Adriana Kugler and Lisa Cook, are slated to speak.
Shares of PepsiCo rose 1.7% as it was expecting a smaller drop in annual core profit, citing resilient demand for its energy drinks and healthier soda brands.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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