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The U.S. index futures traded nearly flat with a slight negative bias late Wednesday after the previous session’s tech-led rally that took the S&P 500 and the major tech indices to new peaks. The government shutdown has entered its ninth day, with a resolution remaining elusive amid a lack of consensus among lawmakers. 

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The spotlight shifts to a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and a few key earnings that begin to trickle in before the reporting season starts in earnest next week. Tech analyst Daniel Ives said he expects tech stocks to have a robust third-quarter reporting season, with his checks revealing very robust enterprise AI demand for offerings from megacap techs such as Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL). 

As of 12:15 a.m. ET on Thursday, the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow futures were all marginally lower, while the Russell 2000 futures slipped 0.12%.

Stocks mostly advanced on Wednesday after the artificial intelligence (AI) frenzy lifted stocks with exposure to the technology, in turn pushing the broader market higher. AMD (AMD) led the gains, reaching a record high, as it benefited from follow-on buying after the announcement of its OpenAI deal earlier this week. 

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Nasdaq 100 averages recorded new highs, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrials Average ended flat. Among S&P 500 sectors, IT, industrial, and materials stocks led the way, while financial, consumer staples, and real estate stocks came under selling pressure.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500 Index, rose 0.60%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) jumped 1.15% and 1.07%, respectively. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) edged up 0.02%.

A strategist allayed one of the predominant market fears. LPL Financial Chief Equity Strategist Jeff Buchbinder said in a note to clients on Wednesday that the odds of an AI bubble burst are not zero, but the present AI cycle is better capitalized than the 1990s telecom buildout and appears more durable and profitable in comparison. 

“Nonetheless, the AI buildout’s durability will likely hinge on AI-generated earnings growth and cash flows, sustained utilization, and relief from power grid restraints, while circular spending would pose a risk.”

Aside from Powell, who is scheduled to speak at the Community Banking Conference at 8:30 a.m. ET, the other Fed speakers lined up for Thursday are Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman (8:35 a.m. ET) and the Minneapolis Fed’s Neel Kashkari, as well as Fed Governor Michael Barr, both of whom are scheduled to participate in a discussion at 12:45 p.m. ET. Bowman is due to speak yet again at 3:45 p.m. ET, and San Francisco Fed’s Mary Daly will make public appearances at 4:10 p.m. ET and 9:40 p.m. ET.

Delta Air Lines (DAL), Helen of Troy (HELE), PepsiCo. (PEP), Applied Digital Corp. (APLD), Apogee Enterprises (APOG) and Levi Strauss (LEVI) are among the companies reporting their quarterly results on Thursday.

Crude oil futures slipped in the Asian session, following a four-session run-up, and the gold rally also lost steam after futures hit as high as $4,081. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped in Asian trading after edging up in the previous session. The U.S. dollar gave back some ground against its major counterparts, with the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) retreating after breaching the 99 level for the first time since mid-August on Wednesday.

Most major Asian markets traded higher early Thursday, drawing inspiration from Wall Street’s record performance. The Chinese market, which reopened after a week-long holiday, launched into a rally out of the gate, while the South Korean market remains closed until Friday.

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