Investors will get fresh commentary from five Fed presidents on Thursday. The S&P 500 is looking to extend gains after hitting fresh records.
US stocks were slightly higher but struggled to meaningfully extend gains on Thursday after Wednesday's record-setting session.
The S&P 500 closed above 5,300 for the first time ever Wednesday, boosted by softer April inflation data. On Thursday, investors will hear from five Federal Reserve presidents, and will be listening for clues about the direction of interest rates after the first upbeat inflation report of the year.
Fed presidents Tom Barkin, Patrick Harker, Loretta Mester, and Raphael Bostic are set to speak throughout the day, with Fed president John Williams giving an interview before the opening bell.
"The overall trend looks reasonably good," Williams said regarding inflation during an interview with Reuters. Yet, he also noted that monetary policy is "in a good place" and that he doesn't feel in a rush to change the Fed's approach just yet.
Jobless claims were lower than expected, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of Americans filing for state unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 in the week ending May 11.
The week's big meme stock rally appears to be over as GameStop and AMC continue to drop from highs earlier in the week.
We are in a bull market and people are showing some irrational exuberance (meme stocks) and dismissing bad news (slowing retail sales) and focusing on good news (slightly slowing inflation)," Chris Zaccarelli, CIO for Independent Advisor Alliance, said Thursday.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:
Here's what else is going on today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto: