Stock futures changed little in the early morning of Thursday’s trading after major averages posted losses for a third straight day as cryptocurrency prices fell.
The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were both trading around the flatline.
Cisco’s shares fell 5.62% in extended trading after the data center network hardware maker released weaker than expected earnings forecasts for the current quarter.
The movements in futures followed a roller coaster ride on Wall Street sparked by a sudden drop in Bitcoin price that resulted in a sharp sell-off in many speculative areas of the market. Cryptocurrency-related stocks, including Tesla, Coinbase and MicroStrategy, led the market decline as Bitcoin rose as much as 30% on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 was down 1.6% on its session lows in the previous session, but made up most of the losses, closing only 0.3% as the market stabilized and Bitcoin bounced off its lows. The blue chip Dow ended the session roughly 160 points after losing 580 points at one point. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day flat, erasing a 1.7% decline.
“After all, crypto is the flagship for liquidity-related speculation, and the fact that it is now deflating … gives credibility to the feeling that risk markets are now gradually adjusting to the emerging prospect of peak liquidity,” a JPMorgan strategist said in a note.
Bitcoin was trading at $ 39,584.82 apiece on Thursday at 12:26 a.m. ET on Thursday, according to Coin Metrics.
On Wednesday, investors also digested the Federal Reserve’s April minutes, which indicated they might consider cutting their asset-buying programs in upcoming meetings.
“A number of participants suggested that it might be appropriate in the upcoming meetings to discuss a plan to adjust the pace of asset purchases if the economy continues to make rapid progress towards the committee’s objectives,” it said Fed Protocol.
Investors are waiting for the latest weekly US unemployment claim count to gauge the pace of the labor market recovery. According to economists polled by Dow Jones, 452,000 new unemployment benefits are expected to be filed in the week ending May 15, down from 473,000 the week before.
Kohl and Petco’s earnings are expected to be released on Thursday before the bell.
