US pre-open: Futures mixed after Dow's best day since April 2025

5th Nov 2026 12:23

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the open on Thursday after major indices posted their strongest session in more than a year, buoyed by a sharp fall in oil prices and investor relief following the Democrats' decisive midterm election victory.

As of 1220 GMT, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were up 0.61% and 0.16%, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.49% lower.

The Dow closed a whopping 1,569.40 points higher on Wednesday as West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled more than 8% to $88.12 a barrel, with the blue-chip index recording its best one-day performance since April 2025.

The advance came as investors welcomed easing energy prices and growing political certainty after Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterms. Vice-president JD Vance attributed the Republicans' election losses to the conflict with Iran, which has been a key driver behind higher energy costs and broader concerns over the cost of living.

As for Thursday's headlines, US employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, up 2% from September's 43,281 but down 71% from the same month a year earlier. October's reading was the lowest for the month since 2023 and marked the eighth time this year that planned layoffs came in below levels seen a year earlier. Food companies led announced job cuts during the month with 9,677, followed by the technology sector with 5,576 and services firms with 5,458.

Year-to-date, employers have announced 617,189 job cuts, representing a 44% decline from the same period a year earlier for the lowest print for the first 10 months of the year since 2022, when employers announced 243,338 layoffs. Despite the broader improvement in labour market conditions, technology remained the hardest-hit sector, accounting for 171,501 planned job cuts so far this year, up 21% year-on-year.

Still to come, weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department and a preliminary reading of Q3 non-farm productivity figures were both slated for release at 1330 GMT.

In the corporate space, ConocoPhillips, WarnerBros Discovery, Kimberly-Clark and Ralph Lauren were all slated to publish earnings before the open, while Airbnb, Carlyle Group and DraftKings will report after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com