The Nasdaq is firmly higher before the bell
Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are on the rise as investors return from the Juneteenth holiday, following the tech-heavy benchmark's seventh-straight win and record close on Tuesday. Moving quietly, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) sit lower ahead of the open, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures rise.
Jobless claims totaled 238,000 for last week, while housing starts and building permits declined 5.5% and 3.8% from the previous month, respectively. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index came in at 1.3 in June, down from 4.5 in May and significantly below the 5.0 estimate. In other news, Nvidia (NVDA) once again surpassed Microsoft (MSFT) as the most valuable company in the world.

5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.8 million call contracts and 1 million put contracts exchanged on Tuesday. The single-session equity put/call fell to 0.58, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
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Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) stock is up 3.1% premarket, after the company's better-than-expected first-quarter results. Looking to extend a bounce off the
familiar $50 level, this will be KR's fourth consecutive post-earnings rise if gains hold. Year to date, the equity is up 13.7% heading into today.
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Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) is up 8.6% before the bell, despite disappointing fiscal third-quarter results, after the company lifted its 2024 revenue forecast due to booming artificial intelligence (AI) demand. Since the start of 2024, ACN is down 18.7%.
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KB Home (NYSE:KBH) is up 1.9% in electronic trading, after the company beat second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates. In response, no fewer than five analysts lifted their price targets. Year to date, KBH is up 8.9%.
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China, England Keep Rates Steady
Stocks in Asia were mixed Thursday, after the People’s Bank of China kept its benchmark one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged. In response, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi tacked on 0.4%.
In Europe, the Bank of England (BoE) kept interest rates steady at 5.25%. Wednesday, it was reported that U.K. inflation rose 2% for May, on target. At last glance, France’s CAC 40 is 0.9% higher, while Germany’s DAX is up 0.5%, and London’s FTSE 100 sports a 0.3% lead.