US futures rise after Fed raises rates; ECB holds rates steady
U.S. stock index futures are set for a positive open on Thursday, after sentiment was boosted by news that the Federal Reserve had hiked interest rates during its December policy meeting.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 31 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.75 points and 6 points, respectively.
In the previous session, the Dow Jones industrial average posted another record close after the U.S. central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, as widely expected, while upping its economic growth outlook for the coming year.
One of the more noteworthy actions that arose from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was that members had set a target for 2018's gross domestic product. Collectively, the group upgraded its GDP estimate to 2.5 percent, from 2.1 percent in September.
Both the Bank of England (BOE) and European Central Bank (ECB) also delivered monetary policy decisions on Thursday, keeping interest rates steady.
The British pound and the euro traded slightly higher.
Elsewhere, a slew of economic data was released. Weekly jobless claims totaled 225,000, well below an estimate of 239,000. Meanwhile, retail sales rose 0.8 percent in November versus an estimated increase of 0.3 percent. The Flash US composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) is due out at 9:45 a.m. ET, followed by manufacturing and trade inventories at 10 a.m. ET.
On the earnings front, Scholastic, Adobe Systems, Costco and Oracle are some of the names set to publish financial figures.
Also in corporate news, Disney agreed to buy 21st Century Fox assets for more than $52 billion. The asets include Fox's movie studios, network Nat Geo, Asian pay-TV operator Star TV, stakes in Sky and Hulu and regional sports networks. Fox and Disney shares both declined 1 percent in the premarket.
Politics will be at the back of investors' minds, as markets await any news surrounding tax reform. Negotiators from the House and Senate have reached an agreement concerning a tax plan, Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced Wednesday.
Overseas, European markets slipped into the red, while markets in Asia finished on a mixed to lower note.
—CNBC's Jeff Cox and Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report