Stock futures climb after S&P 500 posts back-to-back winning sessions: Live updates

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 4, 2025.

NYSE

U.S. stock futures climbed early Thursday after the major averages posted back-to-back winning sessions.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 102 points, or 0.23%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both rose by 0.25% and 0.28%, respectively.

Semiconductor plays slid in extended trading, with Qualcomm, Arm and Skyworks Solutions respectively losing roughly 5%, 6% and 23% after reporting their latest quarterly results. Ford Motor slid nearly 5% after the automaker forecast a difficult 2025.

The moves followed a second day of gains for the major stock averages. The Dow added 317.24 points, or 0.71%, during the day's regular session. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.39% and 0.19%, respectively, aided by a jump in Nvidia shares.

Investors seemed to shake off worries around tariffs, which began on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a 10% levy on Chinese imports over the weekend. Sentiment improved after the president paused duties on Mexican and Canadian goods.

"I think the market is coming around to a view I have, which is that this too shall pass," said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, on Wednesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell." "The market increasingly is focusing on what's important, and that is earnings. The earnings outlook is, I think, extremely good."

Big companies set to report on Thursday include Eli Lilly, Yum Brands and Amazon. Traders will also watch out for the latest weekly jobless claims.

China stocks and currency face a tough 2025 regardless of tariffs, Capital Economics says

Stocks in China and the renminbi face "a tough year regardless of how trade tensions play out," according to Thomas Mathews, head of Asia Pacific markets at Capital Economics.

Higher tariffs, or elevated tariffs that remain where they are, leave plenty of room for "China's markets to deteriorate," according to the firm, a London-based researcher. "But tariffs are, in our view, only one reason to be downbeat," Mathews wrote Wednesday.

China's tepid economy ought to keep down bond yields, and the central bank is more likely "to let the currency weaken."

Meanwhile, stock market investors may be too optimistic about the effect of government measures to boost the economy and too confident about the ability of companies in China to "generate sustained growth in earnings per share," Mathews said, arguing that "despite a recent pick-up, EPS are still lower than they were ten years ago. And the economic backdrop of that decade was much rosier than we think the next one will be."

— Scott Schnipper