Markets on Wall Street were positioned to open at record highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve issued a bigger-than-usual interest rate cut intended to fortify a cooling labor market and prevent a recession, the Associated Press reported.
Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 1.7% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.2%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq shot more than 2% higher.
Thursday’s premarket gains came after investors largely shrugged off the Fed’s half-point rate cut a day earlier. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Dow dipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%. Because the Fed’s first cut to interest rates in four years was so well telegraphed, markets had already risen in anticipation of it.
Darden Restaurants climbed 7.5% in premarket, even as the owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse posted first-quarter sales and profit that fell short of expectations. Investors may have been encouraged that Darden reiterated its previous guidance, saying sales trends were on an upward trajectory since a July swoon dragged down its most recent results.
Trading in Tupperware Brands remained halted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock has been sinking, down to 51 cents, since a mini-revival early in the pandemic sent its stock above $30.
Package deliverer FedEx and homebuilder Lennar report their latest results after the bell Thursday.
