(RTTNews) – After recovering from an initial pullback to end the previous session mostly higher, stocks are likely to see continued strength in early trading on Thursday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.
Optimism about the artificial intelligence trade may contribute to strength among tech stocks, as reflected by the 0.6 percent advance by the Nasdaq 100 futures.
AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) is jumping by 1.4 percent in pre-market trading, while fellow AI players Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) are surging by 3.2 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
The strength among AI stocks comes after OpenAI reportedly completed a deal placing a $500 billion valuation on the company.
With the sale of about $6.6 billion worth of stock by current and former employees, the ChatGPT owner has surpassed Elon Musk’s SpaceX as world’s most valuable privately-owned company.
“Reports suggest there was appetite for nearly twice as many as the actual number of shares on offer,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
The AI optimism may help traders continue to shrug off concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Due to the shutdown, the releases of reports on weekly jobless claims and factory orders that were scheduled for this morning have been indefinitely postponed.
Stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday but staged a significant turnaround over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session and into positive territory.
The major averages gave back some ground going into the end the day still finished higher. The Nasdaq climbed 95.15 points or 0.4 percent to 22,755.16, the S&P 500 rose 22.74 points or 0.3 percent to 6,711.20 and the Dow inched up 43.21 points or 0.1 percent to 46,441.10.
Due to the turnaround on the day, the major averages closed higher for the fourth straight session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. While Japan’s Nikkei 2225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 1.6 percent.
Most European stocks have also moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both jumping by 1.5 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is posting a modest gain, inching up by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.28 to $61.50 a barrel after falling $0.59 to $61.78 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after jumping $24.30 to $3,897.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $10.70 to $3,908.20 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 146.99 yen versus the 147.05 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1746 compared to yesterday’s $1.1729.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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