Stock futures rose on Thursday after the House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling late Wednesday night.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.24%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered near the flat line, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.16%.
A looming US debt default, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned could come as soon as Monday, has begun to weigh on markets over the past week. But with the House passing the bill by a vote of 314-117, investors will now wait for action in the Senate.
“The deadline to raise the debt ceiling is fast approaching, and the potential for triggering a negative market reaction with dire economic consequences will only increase as we move closer to the cliff,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said in a statement after the House vote.
He added, “We call on the Senate to eliminate the risk of default by passing this bipartisan bill as quickly as possible.”
The artificial intelligence hype train that has been driving the Nasdaq rally since last week’s Nvida (NVDA) explosion earnings report hit a rapid rally after Wednesday’s close. C3.ai (AI) fell more than 20% in pre-market trading Thursday after the company reported weaker-than-expected full-year revenue guidance. The AI software developer expects revenue between $295 and $320 million. Wall Street was hoping for $321 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Shares of Salesforce (CRM) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) also stumbled in pre-market trading. Salesforce fell more than 6% as investors tuned in to capital spending growing 36% in the quarter. CrowdStrike stock fell as full-year earnings forecasts came in at the low end of analyst expectations.
Meanwhile, retail earnings continued to present a mixed picture of consumer spending. After the bell on Wednesday, Nordstrom (JWN) beat analyst expectations as shares rose nearly 4% through Thursday’s open. But Thursday morning, Macy’s (M) struck a different note. The retailer’s stock fell more than 7% after cutting its full-year sales and earnings-per-share guidance.
“We planned the year under the assumption that consumer economic health would be challenged, but starting in late March, demand trends softened further in our discretionary categories,” Macy’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Genette said in the company’s earnings release.
On the economic front, 235,000 unemployment claims were filed in the week ending May 27. Economists had expected 235,000 claims.
Josh is Yahoo Finance Correspondent.
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