US stock futures point higher on Thursday, with markets gearing up for fresh commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and new inflation data later this week. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) shares spike in extended hours dealmaking after the memory chip manufacturer unveiled current-quarter guidance that topped Wall Street expectations. Elsewhere, reports say ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is working on plans to restructure as a for-profit company.
1. Futures higher
US stock futures edged into the green as investors awaited the statements from Powell and looked ahead to the release of the Fed's preferred inflation reading on Friday.
By 03:29 ET (07:29 GMT), the Dow futures contract had gained 160 points or 0.4%, S&P 500 futures had added 43 points or 0.7%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had risen by 274 points or 1.4%.
The S&P 500 snapped a two-day winning streak in the prior session, retreating from advances made earlier in the week after China announced a raft of new economic stimulus measures.
At the end of trading on Wednesday, the benchmark average had lost 11 points or 0.2% and the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by 293 points or 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, had added 8 points or 0.04%.
However, all three of the indices are on pace to post monthly gains, with much of the upward impetus coming from the Fed's decision to roll out a super-sized 50-basis point interest rate reduction last week.
2. Powell to speak
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to headline a slate of speakers from the central bank on Thursday.
Powell will deliver pre-recorded remarks at the US Treasury Market Conference in New York at 09:20, according to the Fed's website.
Following the outsized rate cut last week, Powell said the move was a part of a "recalibration" of policy designed to protect the labor market while sustainably bringing inflation back down to the Fed's stated 2% target.
Several other policymakers have defended the big drawdown, including Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who said on Wednesday that the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee needs to "balance its focus" between supressing price pressures and avoiding "pain" in the broader economy.
But Fed officials have not been unanimous in their support of the size of the cut. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, who voted for lowering borrowing costs by a more traditional 25 basis points, has said she remains worried by lingering inflation risks.
3. Micron's rosy outlook
Shares in Micron surged in extended hours trading on Thursday after the chipmaker unveiled current-quarter guidance that was far above analysts' expectations thanks to soaring demand for its memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications.
For its fiscal first quarter, the company said it expects to report adjusted per-share income of $1.74, give or take $0.08, on revenue of $8.70 billion, plus or minus $200 million, compared with Wall Street estimates for $1.58 and $8.35 billion, respectively.
Along with South Korea's SK Hynix (KS:000660) and Samsung (KS:005930), Micron is one of the largest manufacturers of so-called high-bandwidth memory chips, which help power AI-fueled graphics processing units.
Speaking with analysts, Micron chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said that demand from the firm's data center customers "continues to be strong and customer inventory levels are healthy."
Micron reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.18 per diluted share on revenue of $7.75 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated adjusted profit per share of $1.11 a share on revenue of $7.65 billion.
4. OpenAI eyeing plan to move to for-profit structure - reports
OpenAI is working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit in a bid to make the ChatGPT maker more attractive to investors, with CEO Sam Altman set to receive equity in the shift, multiple reports showed on Wednesday.
The company also announced a slew of resignations in its top management, including high-profile chief technology officer Mira Murati, chief research officer Bob McGrew and research vice president Barret Zoph.
OpenAI’s plans were initially reported by Reuters, and come as the company courts investors for a more than $6 billion capital raise.
Long-term investor Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is expected to participate in the round, as are Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and United Arab Emirates-based firm MGX, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
Reports have also said that OpenAI -- which was initially founded as a non-profit -- has been valued at roughly $150 billion, making it one of Silicon Valley's most valuable companies.
5. Oil slumps
Oil prices fell Thursday following a report that top exporter Saudi Arabia was set to discard its lofty crude price target as it looks at expanding production.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. By 03:30 ET, the Brent contract dropped 2.4% to $71.14 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 2.8% lower at $67.72 per barrel.
The Financial Times reported earlier Thursday that Saudi Arabia, the world's second-largest oil producer, is preparing to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel for crude as it prepares to increase output.
Additionally, supply from Libya could return to the global markets after reports said that delegates from the country’s east and west factions had agreed over the process of appointing a new central bank governor - a move that is expected to resolve a crisis that has taken at least 1 million barrels per day of production offline.
This talk of additional supply meant that the market largely shrugged off the Energy Information Administration reporting that U.S. oil inventories fell more-than-expected across the board last week.
