Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a lower opening bell on Thursday, as rising Treasury yields continued to weigh on investors.
The S&P 500 futures was down four points or 0.16% to 2,718.75 as of 6:44 AM ET (10:44 GMT) while Dow futures decreased 21 points or 0.08% to 24,719.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 25 points or 0.36% to 6,912.00.
Rising Treasury yields remain in the back of investors’ minds, with the benchmark United States 10-Year yield dipping 0.13% to 3.091 after reaching a seven-year high of 3.119 earlier in the session. As bond yields rise, prices fall.
The increase in bond yields, combined with strengthening inflation, have increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy.
In geopolitical news, the White House brushed aside threats from North Korea that it would withdraw from a June 12 meeting in Singapore. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told Fox News on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump was ready for the meeting to take place.
Retail giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, surging 1.07% ahead of its earnings release. Meanwhile Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) rose 0.72% while General Electric (NYSE:GE) gained 0.60%.
Elsewhere, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) slumped 4.34% despite its earnings coming be better than expected, while Shire PLC ADR (NASDAQ:SHPG) fell 1.16% and Rio Tinto ADR (NYSE:RIO)(LON:RIO) was down 1.14%.
In economic news, jobless claims data is released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), along with the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose 27 points or 0.21% while in France the CAC 40 increased 19 points or 0.35% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up eight points or 0.11%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained five points or 0.15% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched up 16 points or 0.17%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.48% to $1,285.30 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.67% to $71.97 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.16% to 93.42.