U.S. equity futures are pointing to a higher open a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in a decade and comments by the Fed Chair sent stocks plunging.
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Dow Industrial futures are higher by less than 0.1 percent. S&P 500 futures are off by less than 0.1 percent and Nasdaq futures are up 0.1 percent.
Chairman Jerome Powell suggested Wednesday that the cut wasn’t the beginning of a long easing cycle. He also reiterated that the central bank would continue monitoring incoming economic data. That helped send the Dow to a loss of 333 points or 1.2 percent.
On the economic calendar, weekly jobless claims came in at 215,000, slightly higher than expected. On Wednesday, ADP reported the private sector added 156,000 jobs in July. This comes ahead of Friday’s monthly employment report. Economists estimate that 164,000 workers were added to payrolls.
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Among the big names reporting results ahead of the opening bell Thursday is car maker General Motors and Dow member Verizon Communications.
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After the close, the markets will focus on specialty chemical maker DuPont and multi-line insurer Hartford Financial Services.
