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US stock futures pulled back on Thursday ahead of a fresh batch of inflation data, as President Trump renewed his threat to impose "take it or leave it" tariffs on trading partners.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell roughly 0.6%, or over 250 points, as component Boeing (BA) slumped in the wake of a deadly plane crash in India. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) dropped 0.5%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also moved 0.5% lower.
Stocks are staying downbeat after the S&P 500 (^GSPC) snapped this week's run of wins, as investors add growing tensions in the Middle East to worries over Trump's trade policy, including the fragility of the US-China detente.
For now the spotlight is on the May reading on wholesale inflation due later, after its consumer counterpart showed an easing in price pressures in the wake of Trump's "reciprocal" tariff hikes in April.
Further hints that tariffs are sparing inflation could put the Federal Reserve in a tight spot ahead of its policy meeting next week. Bets on interest-rate cuts this year have mounted, but analysts expect officials to maintain their wait-and-see approach to economic data and policy decisions.
While investor focus is shifting back to the Fed, Wall Street is still closely following the latest twists and turns in Trump's tariff policy in the hunt for clarity.
Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs
US trading partners will get letters within a week or two to set their unilateral tariff rates, Trump reiterated on Wednesday, renewing the threat of no-deal hikes. “At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” the president said at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress it's "highly likely" that countries in trade negotiations with the US will see an extension of the 90-day tariff pause, currently set to expire July 9.
LIVE 10 updates
Continuing unemployment claims hit highest level in nearly four years
Weekly claims for unemployment benefits remained at their highest level in eight months during the first full week of June while the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance on an ongoing basis reached the highest level since November 2021 as the US labor market continues to show signs of slowing.
Data from the Department of Labor released Thursday morning showed 248,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending June 7, flat from the week prior and above economists' expectations for 242,000.
Meanwhile, 1.956 million continuing claims were filed, up from 1.902 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021. Economists see an increase in continuing claims as a sign that those out of work are taking longer to find new jobs.
Investors watching Chime debut for signs of IPO resurgence
Chime is set to debut on the Nasdaq later today under the ticker symbol CHYM. The digital bank raised $864 million in its IPO, and priced shares at $27 each for a valuation of $11.6 billion.
Chime's entrance in the public markets has been viewed as another indicator of whether the IPO market is thawing after a freeze due to tariff-induced uncertainty. Other recent go-publics, like stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and Nvidia-backed CoreWeave (CRWV), saw massive rallies after their IPOs.
As my colleague Josh Schafer wrote yesterday, the largest tech stocks are once again leading the market higher, and that enthusiasm has trickled down to newly issued public offerings. In a June 9 research report, Carson Group associate portfolio manager Blake Anderson found that tech IPOs have been outperforming non-tech IPOs, with shares tied to tech IPOs rising an average of 108% from their deal price.
Beyond Chime, other closely watched IPO hopefuls in the pipeline include crypto exchange Gemini; buy now, pay later firm Klarna (KLAR.PVT); AI chipmaker Cerebras (CESY.PVT); and medical supplies company Medline.
US long-dated debt faces crucial test in $22 billion auction
Bloomberg reports:
The stock market is shifting its focus to the Fed from Trump
President Trump's Truth Social posts aren't moving markets like they used to, notes Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer.
Stocks barely budged as he posted on Wednesday that a US-China deal was "done" — something that would have swung markets around a month earlier.
Instead, stocks found their direction from economic data, Josh reports:
Read more here from today's Morning Brief.
Dollar hits fresh 2025 low as US tariff concerns pick up again
The dollar (DX=F) fell further on Thursday as concerns grew about US tariffs after President Trump said he would soon tell trading partners about unilateral levies.
Bloomberg News reports:
Boeing stock slides after plane crashes in India
Boeing stock fell on Thursday by 8% in premarket trading after an Air India aircraft carrying over 200 people crashed minutes after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
Air India confirmed the plane, which was headed to Gatwick Airport in the UK, crashed in a civilian area near the airport, but has not specified if there are any fatalities.
It is still not clear what caused the crash. According to Reuters, Boeing confirmed it was aware of the crash and was working to gather more information.
The news comes as the planemaker is trying to rebuild trust relating to the safety of its jets and increase production under new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Orthberg.
"There's revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years," said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group.
Good morning. Here's what's happening today.
Trending tickers: Oracle, GameStop and Boeing
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
Oracle (ORCL) stock rose 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after the tech company raised its annual forecast, driven by demand for its AI related cloud services.
"Oracle's once-stodgy image levels up to 'cloud-native mage,' and the competitive map now looks less like a classic three-player real time strategy and more like a battle-royale with everyone dropping in, looking for compute loot", said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors.
GameStop (GME) shares slumped on Thursday by 11% after announcing a convertible notes offering. The press release said: "GameStop intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including making investments in a manner consistent with GameStop’s Investment Policy and potential acquisitions."
Boeing (BA) stock fell 8% before the bell on Thursday after a plane crashed in India, with more than 200 people on board, near the airport in the country's western city of Ahmedabad. The plane, which was headed to Gatwick airport in the UK, crashed in a civilian area.
Oil turns lower as MidEast tensions rise
Oil prices pulled back early Thursday morning, reversing earlier overnight gains as traders assessed a US decision to pull some diplomats out of the Middle East.
The decision to reduce staffing in Iraq came after Iran threatened to hit US assets in the region ahead of its talks with the US over nuclear-related activity.
Brent crude futures fell to under $69 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude traded below $68 a barrel — both down around 1%. Prices jumped over 4% on Wednesday amid reports of a potential evacuation.
Reuters reports:
Gold rises for second day as economic tension builds haven demand
Gold (GC=F) rose for a second day in a row as tensions in the Middle East, coupled with Trump's claims of upcoming unilateral tariffs, pushed risk-averse investors toward the haven commodity.
Bloomberg reports:
