Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a higher open on Thursday, ahead of another earnings-heavy day and as investors digest the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve, while looking ahead to the start of the Bank of Japan's two-day meeting.
The blue-chip Dow futures rose 11 points, or 0.06%, by 10:50GMT, or 6:50AM ET, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 2 points, or 0.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 2 points, or 0.04%.
Among active pre-market movers, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares jumped more than 5% ahead of the bell after the social media giant reported second quarter revenue and user growth that exceeded estimates after Wednesday's closing bell.
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) spiked nearly 24% following the company's better than expected second quarter earnings release.
GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) gained almost 2% after the camera-maker said quarterly revenue plunged 47.4%, but still beat analysts' estimates.
On the downside, Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) dropped 5% after the organic food retailer posted weaker than expected second quarter revenue and same-store sales.
U.S.-listed shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDSb) lost nearly 5% after the oil producer reported a more than 70% fall in quarterly profit, well below analyst estimates.
The second quarter earnings season continues in full-swing on Thursday, with pharma, consumer products, big oil, financials and autos all reporting throughout the day.
Ford (NYSE:F), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG), Hershey (NYSE:HSY), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and TransCanada (TO:TRP) are among those reporting ahead of the opening bell.
But most of the focus will be after the close with numbers from Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), Aflac (NYSE:AFL), Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC), and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) are also due after the bell.
The reporting season thus far has been better-than-expected in general with experts easing forecasts on the drop in earnings for S&P 500 companies to just 3.0%, compared to the 4.7% decline expected ahead of the season, according to Thomson Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said near-term risks to the U.S. economic outlook had diminished. However, the central bank stopped short of signaling a near-term rate rise.
Fed funds futures are currently pricing in an 18% chance of a rate hike by September. December odds were at around 46%, down from 52% earlier in the week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 96.50 early on Thursday, compared to its last close at 97.05 and off a more than four-month high of 97.59 earlier this week.
There is little economic data on Thursday, with most of the focus on weekly jobless claims figures at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET.
With the Fed meeting over, attention now turns to the Bank of Japan, which begins its two-day policy meeting on Thursday.
Political pressure is mounting on the BOJ to expand stimulus, with the economy minister calling on the central bank to work with the government to boost growth.
But some in the nine-member board feel the central bank has done enough for now and thus are expected to dissent to any proposal for expanding monetary stimulus, according to a report in influential Japanese business daily Nikkei.
In Europe, stock markets were mostly lower in choppy trade, as market players digested the Fed statement and a slew of earnings reports.
Earlier, Asian equities closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling sharply as investors worried that the BoJ may not ease monetary policy as much as hoped.
Elsewhere, oil prices continued to struggle near three-month lows on Thursday, after U.S. government data revealed a surprise build in crude and gasoline inventories last week added to concerns over a glut of oil and refined products.