US stock futures teetered Thursday morning with lower bond yields, a weaker dollar and a Bitcoin rally progressing ahead of a new set of economic data.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.1%, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) were slightly lower. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were also just below the flatline.
In the past 24 hours, bitcoin (BTC-USD) has rallied, hitting a new six-month high amid a regulatory crackdown that sparked some ongoing turmoil. The token is trading at around $24,586 in pre-market trading Thursday morning.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury was up to 3.78% on Thursday morning. The dollar index fell nearly 0.3% to trade at $103.65. Energy was trading weaker, with Brent oil futures falling 0.3% to $85.08 a barrel.
Stocks ended the day higher on Wednesday after another economic data release revealed that inflation could be much higher than many had expected.
Retail sales rose 3% in January, the Commerce Department said, reversing two consecutive monthly declines coupled with higher-than-expected consumer price data on Tuesday, leading investors to worry the central bank could continue to lower interest rates to increase.
“Robust job growth and an increase in disposable income in the new year also contributed to the spending spike in January,” Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave wrote in a post-release note.
Economists at JPMorgan raised their GDP projection for the first quarter from 1% to 2% on the news, noting that the acceleration in retail sales adds to “the goldilocks of inflation-free growth.”
Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday that the Treasury Department’s ability to continue paying its government bills would be exhausted by the summer unless lawmakers strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
On the macro front, investors expect more economic data, including January’s producer price index (PPI). Total PPI is expected to show a monthly increase of 0.4%, down from a 0.5% decline in December. Weekly jobless claims and housing data will also be released Thursday morning.
Separately, Redfin (RDFN), DoorDash (DASH), and Dropbox (DBX) are gearing up to report quarterly results on Thursday after the bell.
In specific stock moves, shares of Paramount (PARA) fell nearly 7% Thursday morning after the media giant reported a top- and bottom-line earnings misstatement. Revenue came in at $8.13 billion compared to $8.17 million expected and subscriber growth also took a hit, reaching 9.9 million for the quarter versus 10 million forecast.
Shares of Shopify (SHOP) fell Thursday after the e-commerce company posted results for fourth-quarter revenue at $1.73 billion against estimates of $1.65 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.07 beat estimates of $0.02. Still, the Ottawa-based company expects first-quarter revenue to be slightly below forecasts.
Shares of Roku (ROKU) rose Thursday morning after the company’s net sales of $867.1 million beat expectations of $804.5 million. Fourth quarter loss per share of $1.70 came in at just under $1.74 as analysts expected.
Shares of Cisco (CSCO) were up 4% in pre-market trading after the company raised its revenue expectation for the third quarter to 11% to 13% higher year over year, beating analysts’ expectations.
QuantumScape (QS) shares fell nearly 13% before the bell after posting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.
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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv
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