Forexpros – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as hopes for further easing measures by the European Central Bank supported market sentiment, after the Federal Reserve held off from announcing fresh stimulus steps for the time being.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.41% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.38% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.40% gain.
Expectations that the ECB may resume its bond buying program, to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, have been building since central bank President Mario Draghi pledged last week to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
Investors remained cautious however, amid concerns that an inadequate policy response by the ECB could send markets lower.
In the U.S., the central bank stopped short of launching a third round of quantitative easing, at its policy-setting meeting on Wednesday.
The Fed did indicate, however, that it will “closely monitor” the economy and “will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions.”
In company news, global agribusiness group Monsanto was expected to be in focus, after it was awarded USD1 billion in damages in a patent infringement trial against DuPont and its agricultural crop subsidiary DuPont Pioneer. The news sent Monsanto shares up 1.48% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, American International Group climbed 0.52% in late trading, amid reports it is looking to buy back a large chunk of its shares from the U.S. government, whose stake in the group could subsequently go below 50% by this autumn, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was also expected to be active, as it gained regulatory approval to buy Consolidated Media Holdings in a AUD2 billion deal that could possibly strengthen its hold on pay-television in Australia.
Among earnings, online review website Yelp reported second-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates, as an expansion into new regions helped widen its user base. Revenue rose 67% to USD32.7 million, sending shares surging 14.77% in after hour trade.
On the downside, Sony shares plunged 3.13% after the Japanese firm reported a 77% fal in operating profit to JPY6.28 billion in the second quarter.
Other stocks in focus included General Motors, DirecTV and Kellogg, due to report earnings after the open, while Kraft, AIG and LinkedIn were set to publish results after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.52%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.41%, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.65%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.45%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.66%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.13%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on initial jobless claims and factory orders.
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