U.S. stock index futures showed a mixed performance Thursday<\/strong>, with the tech sector staging a recovery after Wednesday\u2019s heavy losses, as optimism grew over potential trade deals between the U.S. and its key global partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT):<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rebound comes after all major U.S. indices closed sharply lower on Wednesday<\/strong>, dragged down by a selloff in tech stocks<\/strong>, particularly following Nvidia\u2019s disclosure of a large quarterly charge<\/strong> related to new U.S. export controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nasdaq Composite<\/strong> has now fallen nearly 19% from its record closing high<\/strong>, moving closer to bear market territory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Market sentiment improved heading into the Good Friday holiday<\/strong>, amid encouraging signs that tariff tensions may ease<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These developments have raised hopes that a full-scale trade war could be averted<\/strong>, supporting risk assets like equities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite improving sentiment, the market is also grappling with a hawkish tone from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell<\/strong>, who said the central bank remains reluctant to cut interest rates in the near term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell emphasized the Fed\u2019s priority to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fed\u2019s stance reflects concern that tariffs may further inflate consumer prices<\/strong> while simultaneously weighing on growth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Data released Wednesday showed U.S. retail sales surged 1.4% in March<\/strong>, as consumers brought forward purchases\u2014especially of vehicles\u2014ahead of expected price increases tied to tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investors are also awaiting a busy data slate<\/strong>, which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the earnings front, the spotlight turns to several financial and tech-related companies, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These reports follow a strong showing from major U.S. banks earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM)<\/strong> posted a 60% surge in Q1 net profit<\/strong>, and forecast robust demand in the next quarter\u2014particularly for AI chips<\/strong>, helping to support sentiment across the chip sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crude prices continued to climb Thursday, supported by concerns over potential supply disruptions<\/strong> following fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran\u2019s oil exports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 06:00 ET:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prices have now posted their highest levels in two weeks<\/strong>, positioning both benchmarks for their first weekly gain in three weeks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest sanctions, announced by the Trump administration, target Chinese firms and shipping vessels<\/strong> connected to Iran\u2019s oil exports, including a refinery in Shandong province<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Powell\u2019s hawkish tone, the recovery in tech<\/strong>, combined with constructive trade developments<\/strong>, has buoyed sentiment heading into the Easter break. However, markets remain highly sensitive to both central bank signals and trade headlines<\/strong>, suggesting that volatility may persist<\/strong> in the near term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With economic data and earnings due throughout the day, investors will be closely watching for signs of resilience\u2014or further risk\u2014from both consumers and corporations as they navigate a complex global trade and monetary policy environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. stock index futures showed a mixed performance Thursday, with the tech sector staging a recovery after Wednesday\u2019s heavy losses, as optimism grew over potential trade deals between the U.S. and its key global partners. As of 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT): Dow Jones Futures declined 70 points, or 0.2% S&P 500 Futures gained 40 points, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":31849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,36],"tags":[6842],"class_list":["post-113764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-global-stock-markets","category-market-updates","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113764"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113765,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113764\/revisions\/113765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\n\n\nTrade Talks Spark Optimism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nPowell Holds Line on Rates Amid Tariff Impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nKey Economic Data and Earnings on Tap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nOil Heads for Weekly Gains as Sanctions Drive Supply Risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nMarket Outlook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n