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Stock futures rise ahead of GDP data – Tesla reports record revenue – Bitcoin tops $23.7K – IBM and SAP to cut nearly 6900 jobs – Interest rates drop, spiking mortgage demand
Stock futures climbed on Thursday ahead of data on corporate earnings and the anticipated release of the latest gross domestic product (GDP) data. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up by 57 points or 0.17%, while S&P 500 futures were up 18.5 points or 0.46%, and NASDAQ futures rose by 103 points or 0.87%, Yahoo reported.
The benchmark 10-Year Treasury Note was up +0.044 to yield at 3.506% as of 8:36 AM EST.
In oil futures, WTI crude was up +1.52% and trading at $81.32 per barrel, while Brent crude was up +1.35% and trading at $87.28 a barrel as of 8:38 AM ET.
Tesla reported its fourth-quarter earnings for 2022 with revenue of $24.32 billion and earnings of $1.19 per share, topping estimates. Its automotive revenue was $21.3 billion, CNBC reported. Tesla shares were up 7% in premarket trading.
Bitcoin made a comeback on Wednesday as the digital coin soared past $23,700 before retreating slightly and landing above $23,180, a move of over 3.1% over the past 24 hours, CoinDesk reported. Overall, in recent weeks the largest cryptocurrency has risen more than 35% largely on declining inflation.
Bitcoin’s momentum also helped propel the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, which shot up 5.4% to $1618.
On Wednesday, SAP, Europe’s largest software company, announced plans to lay off 2.5% of its global workforce, up to 3,000 jobs. SAP will also explore the sale of its stake in American business software provider Qualtrics, which it acquired in Nov. 2018 for $8 billion, CNBC reported.
IBM announced on Wednesday it will reduce its global workforce by 1.5%, laying off about 3,900 workers, CNN reported. The company said the job cuts are related to the sale of two business units and a previously announced spinoff.
Mortgage interest rates have fallen for the third straight week, with the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dropping to 6.2%, CNBC reported. However, points increased from 0.67 to 0.69 for loans with a 20% down payment. Last week, total mortgage application volume increased by 7% over the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
