Stocks looked set to rise on Thursday, with investors seemingly unfazed by a disappointing set of results from electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla, while oil prices jumped after President Donald Trump imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two biggest crude producers.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 46 points, or 0.1%, likely dragged into the red by a selloff in IBM shares. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.1%, and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were 0.2% higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up 3 basis points to 3.89%. Gold rose 1.6% to $4,132 an ounce, and the dollar was up 0.1% against a weighted basket of its peers.
Crude prices rose after Trump announced new sanctions targeting Lukoil and Rosneft that could bar foreign countries or companies from conducting business with the oil companies. The Brent international benchmark rose 3.4% to $64.75 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate U.S. prices were up 3.5% to $60.57 a barrel.
Tesla’s results may not fill investors with much confidence. The company missed Wall Street’s profit target, despite delivering a record number of vehicles over the third quarter.
Tech earnings matter even more than usual for the market at the moment, with most economic data releases suspended due to the ongoing government shutdown, which just entered its 23rd day. But for now, it looks like the Street isn’t too fazed about Tesla’s profit miss.