U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday night after strong retail sales data suggested a resilient U.S. economy.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 14 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures was unchanged, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.11%.
Roku shares jumped about 12% in extended trading after the streaming device company posted a narrower-than-expected loss and beat analysts’ sales expectations in its latest quarter. Cisco Systems shares advanced 4% after the digital communications firm reported results that topped analysts’ forecasts on the top and bottom lines.
Stocks closed slightly higher during the regular session Wednesday, despite falling earlier in the day after a stronger-than-expected January retail sales report suggested the Federal Reserve may have further to go in its efforts to tame inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.78 points, or 0.11%, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite notched its third straight day of gains, rising 0.92%.
For some market observers, that suggested stocks could have more room to run from here — even after their strong start to the year.
“It looks like this rally does have some legs, and you can’t fight some of the tape right now,” Victoria Greene, chief investment officer at G Squared Private Wealth, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”
“The Fed is saying that they’re going to be hawkish, but the technicals are saying this rally is in, and I really don’t think we’re going to retest those October lows anymore, because we’ve hit some really important technical supports,” Greene said.
Wall Street is expecting further economic insight from a slew of reports Thursday. For starters, another inflation gauge will be out in the morning, the January producer price index. Dow Jones estimates are calling for a rise of 0.4%, compared to December’s decline of 0.5%.
Weekly jobless claims data, as well as January’s housing starts report, are also due Thursday.
On the earnings front, Hasbro and Paramount Global are expected to report Thursday before the bell. Dropbox, DoorDash and DraftKings are set to post results after the bell.