Stocks in New York edged higher during early trading on Thursday following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting which showed that most Fed officials shared a hawkish view on its interest rate policy going forward.
Dow Jones e-minis rose by 52 points, or 0.15%, while S&P 500 e-minis grew by 7.25 points, or 0.16%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 e-minis climbed higher by 27.75 points, or 0.19%. This comes after the major U.S. indexes closed lower during the previous session following rising fears of more central bank interest rate hikes going forward.
Cisco Systems shares gained 2.9% in premarket trading after the technology company released its fourth-quarter earnings results which beat Wall Street expectations. The CEO also spoke of the company’s artificial intelligence opportunities going forward. Shares in Walmart rose by 1% ahead of the release of its quarterly earnings later in the day.