US markets today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures indicate gap-up open; Accenture, Rocket Lab, Alphabet stocks to watch

US equity market futures were indicating a gap-up open Thursday, October 1, as investors focused on Accenture’s earnings and the massive buying momentum from the Asian markets amid elevated Treasury yields and rebounding oil prices.

The S&P 500 futures were trading 0.36% higher at 7,743.00 points, while the Nasdaq 100 index futures were trading 0.49% higher at 30,845.75 points ahead of the Wall Street opening bell.

Data also showed that the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields surged to hit a fresh multi-year high level during the trading session on Thursday, with yields rising to 5.342% amid investors moving towards safe-haven bets.

Key things to watch before US market open

US stocks to watch on October 1

The company also claimed that the new AI model delivers improvements in cybersecurity, coding and complex professional work.

US Dollar hits 16-month high

The global benchmark currency, the US Dollar, surged to hit 16-month high levels against a basket of currencies on Thursday’s market as investors continue to project a good chance for the US Federal Reserve to raise key interest rates in the next committee meeting.

The US Dollar spot index surged to hit a multi-month high of 102 during the trading session on October 1, compared to 101.45 at the previous equity market close, as per Investing.com data.

Asian markets today

While the majority of the benchmark Asian market indices ended in the green zone, some ended in losses amid the massive tech stock momentum in the Japanese market on October 1, due to Micron Technology’s earnings and investors preparing ahead of Accenture’s quarterly earnings

MarketWatch data showed that the Nikkei 225 rallied to close 3.3% higher, Hang Seng ended 0.37% higher, Shanghai Composite ended 0.31% higher, and South Korea’s KOSPI closed 1.95% higher after Thursday’s market.

India’s SENSEX closed 0.79% lower, and Singapore’s FTSE closed 0.14% lower after the trading session on Oct 1, due to selling pressure from investors.

Oil rebounds to $100/barrel

Global crude oil prices rebounded to touch $100 per barrel (bbl) again in the commodity market on Thursday’s session after energy prices cooled off to near the $95 per bbl level during the previous trading session, according to Investing.com data.

As of 5:52 pm (IST), the benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading more than 2% higher at $100 per bbl on Thursday’s market, in comparison to $98.03 per bbl at the previous market close.

The exchange data further showed that energy prices in the global market have risen more than 5% on a one-month basis, and have rallied nearly 40% in the last three months amid the re-escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, with no signs of a peace deal.

Latest media reports suggest that while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Iran “has never avoided” dialogue with the United States, even though being attacked during negotiations, investors seem to tread cautiously due to the high-risk geopolitical sentiment in the market.

How did US markets close on Wednesday?

The US benchmark equity market indices ended on a mixed note, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ending in the red while Nasdaq closed in the green on Wednesday, September 30, with investors focused on softer-than-expected PCE inflation data amid elevated Treasury yields.

Exchange data also showed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.86% lower at 50,906.05 points after Wednesday’s market session, compared to 51,349.92 points at the previous US stock market close.

The S&P 500 index also closed 0.25% lower at 7,651.54 points after the trading session on September 30, in comparison to 7,670.84 points at the previous equity market close, as per the data.

In contrast, the Nasdaq 100 index ended 0.23% higher at 30,408.50 points after the trading session on Wednesday, compared to 30,339.33 points at the previous Wall Street close, as expectations of an upcoming US Fed rate hike eased in the market.