Stock Futures Stable With S&P 500 At New All-Time High

US equity futures were flat in trading overnight on Wednesday after the S&P 500 rally that saw the index cross the 4,500 level for the first time in its history.

Dow futures rose 31 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.03% and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

Shares of software giant Salesforce rose 2% in extended trading after posting second-quarter earnings and guidance that beat analyst estimates. Ulta Beauty also grew 6% after-market thanks to strong results.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.22% to close at a record high, led by stocks that benefit from the economic reopening such as airlines, cruise lines and financials. The 500 stock average crossed the 4,500 threshold for the first time on Wednesday, but closed below that level.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.15%, also posting a record close.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond climbed to 1.352% on Wednesday, reaching its highest level since the start of the month, when it fell to 1.364%.

“The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds has continued to rise in recent days and has exploded higher in [Wednesday’s] trading, sending a strong message that the Delta variant of Covid could peak in the United States, which should improve confidence, revive economic reopenings and direct investment flows to small caps and cyclicals, ”said Jim Paulsen, Chief Investment Strategist at Leuthold Group.

The highly anticipated Jackson Hole Symposium begins Thursday. At the event, central bankers could provide updates on their plan to cut monetary stimulus. The Federal Reserve bought at least $ 120 billion in bonds per month to cut long-term interest rates and jump-start economic growth in response to the pandemic. President Jerome Powell is expected to make remarks on Friday.

“Expect investors to keep an eye on the Fed Symposium the rest of the week for any comments on the reduction or timing of interest rate hikes,” Paulsen said. “An unexpected comment from the Fed or a failure or success in scaling 4,500 could bring additional volatility to the stock and bond markets.”

Data on last week’s jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 350,000 Americans to file for unemployment last week, up from 348,000 the week before.

Several companies release their quarterly results Thursday, including Dell Technologies, Gap, HP and Abercrombie & Fitch.