US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of economic data, Powell remarks

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Thursday ahead of key economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks, while higher crude prices muddled the inflation outlook amid worries over a prolonged restrictive monetary policy. As the 10-year Treasury yield held its 16-year high, megacap growth stocks including Apple, Microsoft , Amazon.com and Tesla shed between 0.1% and 0.9% in premarket trading.

U.S. stock index futures were muted on Thursday ahead of key economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks, while higher crude prices muddled the inflation outlook amid worries over a prolonged restrictive monetary policy.

As the 10-year Treasury yield held its 16-year high, megacap growth stocks including Apple, Microsoft , Amazon.com and Tesla shed between 0.1% and 0.9% in premarket trading. Investors' focus will be on the final gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the second quarter and weekly jobless claims data - due at 8:30 a.m. ET - to gauge the strength of the U.S. economy and the labor market.

On radar will be a speech by Powell at 4 p.m. ET, as well as remarks by voting members Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Board Governor Lisa Cook during the day. The scope for interest rates staying higher for longer than anticipated has solidified with soaring energy prices keeping headline inflation elevated.

Deepening the concerns, U.S. oil futures jumped to a more than one-year high on Thursday. "Another leg up in oil prices has added to the market worries about sticky inflation, thereby stoking fears that interest rates will stay higher for longer," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"The market is worried that supplies of oil are going to be tight and if prices keep going, it is going to cause a real headache for businesses and consumers." With a partial government shutdown just three days away, a procedural vote on a bipartisan short-term spending measure by the Senate on Thursday will also be closely watched.

At 7:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 17.5 points, or 0.12%. Riding on the back of higher crude prices, energy is set to emerge as the only major S&P 500 sector to notch monthly gains. Meanwhile, rate-sensitive information technology and real estate were on track to be the worst hit.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are on course for their worst monthly performance of the year as Treasury yields hit multi-year highs on uncertainty around interest rates. All the three indexes are set for their first quarterly decline in 2023.

Traders' bets on the benchmark rate remaining unchanged in November and December stood around 77% and 58%, respectively, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Meanwhile, a 25-basis-point rate cut is being priced in as early as March, growing to over 30% in June and July. Among individual movers, Micron Technology dropped 4.1% after forecasting a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss.

Workday dipped 10.0% after the human resources software company lowered its subscription revenue growth outlook for the next three years. Meme darling GameStop jumped 7.2% after the company named billionaire activist investor Ryan Cohen as its CEO and chairman.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)