US STOCK index futures rose on Thursday, pointing to fresh gains on Wall Street, on signs that major technology companies will avoid President Donald Trump's latest tariffs on chip imports.
Apple's shares climbed 3.2% in premarket trading, having risen 5.1% and led gains on Wall Street in the prior session, after Trump said the iPhone maker will invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S., bringing its total commitment to $600 billion over the next four years.
Trump also announced a tariff of about 100% on imports of semiconductors but said it would not apply to companies that are manufacturing in the U.S. or have committed to do so.
Shares of chipmakers including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel rose in the range of 1.2% to 2.5%.
At 06:16 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 53.75 points, or 0.84%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 197 points, or 0.84%, and Dow E-minis were up 274 points, or 0.62%.
The president's higher tariffs of 10% to 50% on dozens of trading partners took effect on Thursday.
Still, expectations of policy easing by the Federal Reserve - sparked by some disappointing economic data, particularly the July payrolls report - as well as optimism around AI spending by companies have kept markets near record highs.
Following the latest jobs data, traders have almost fully priced in a 25 basis point rate cut in September and expect at least two rate cuts this year, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Weekly jobless claims data, due at 08:30 a.m. ET, could offer fresh clues on the health of the labor market and shift rate cut expectations.
Investors are also watching for Trump's interim replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler in the coming days, amid expectations that the nominee would be a policy dove who will likely favor bringing interest rates lower.
Kugler's resignation leaves an opening at the seven-member Fed Board led by Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has repeatedly criticized for not cutting borrowing costs. Powell's tenure is due to end in May 2025.
Second-quarter earnings barrage continued at full throttle. DoorDash topped revenue estimates and forecasted a stronger-than-expected gross merchandise value for the current quarter. Its shares jumped 8.6%.
Lyft's quarterly revenue miss took its stock down 2.3%, even as the ride-hailing firm gave an upbeat gross bookings forecast for the September quarter. - Reuters
