U. S. stock index futures fell on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump gave little clarity on his campaign-trail promises of boosting economic growth that had powered Wall Street for two months.
Trump, in his first news conference on Wednesday, gave no details on tax cuts or infrastructure spending, and instead lashed out at U.S. spy agencies and news agencies over what he called a ‘phony’ Russia dossier.
He also blasted pharmaceutical companies over high drug prices, causing health stocks to snap a six-day winning streak and a wobble in Wall Street.
However, a rise in energy and technology stocks helped the market close higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq ending at a record high for the fourth session in a row.
But, Trump’s comments hit the dollar .DXY, which fell to its lowest level in nearly one month on Thursday. Prices of safe-haven gold XAU= rose to their highest since late November.
With Trump’s comments at the back of their minds, investor will turn their focus to the earnings season, which will kick off in earnest on Friday when a trio of big banks report.
Merck (MRK.N), one of the few health stocks that avoided the carnage in the sector on Wednesday, gained 1.6 percent to $62.60 premarket after multiple broker upgrades.
Apple (AAPL.O) was off 0.65 percent at $118.97.
Tesaro (TSRO.O) slipped about 3 percent to $141 in thin trading after the FDA rejected its drug, Rolapitant IV.
In economic data, a report is expected to show weekly jobless claims rose to 255,000 last week from 235,000 a week earlier. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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