U.S. stocks look to push ahead on a positive path, now that the Federal Reserve’s rate decision is in the rearview mirror. Major index futures point to a positive open on Thursday. Pent-up demand following the recent losses could provide some upward thrust to the market but a lot would ride on the earnings reports that traders get to digest. Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is on track to report after the market closes, while most tech earnings released after Wednesday’s closing bell have triggered negative reactions. Traders may also watch out for the jobless claims data and bond yields, given their significance for the Fed funds rate. Futures Performance (+/-) Nasdaq 100 +0.95% S&P 500 +0.64% Dow +0.36% R2K +0.87% In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) climbed 0.67% to $503.71, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) jumped 0.97% to $425.62, according to Benzinga Pro data. Cues From Previous Session: Despite Fed Chair Jerome Powell treading a dovish line, the major averages closed mixed on Wednesday. Stocks mostly languished sideways until the afternoon, characteristic of a Fed decision day. They began to rise after the pause verdict was announced and the upward momentum accelerated after Powell’s press conference. The Fed chief made it clear that the Fed would likely ease rather than tighten further and also conceded that the monetary policy is restrictive. Sentiment reversed course in the last thirty minutes of trading and the averages reversed course before closing mixed. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell for a second straight session, returning to their lowest closing level since April 22. The Dow Industrials ended higher, thanks to strong gains in the shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Energy and IT stocks fell sharply, while utility and communication services stocks gained ground. Index Performance (+/-) Value Nasdaq Composite -0.33% 15,605.48 S&P 500 Index -0.34% 5,018.39 Dow Industrials +0.23% 37,903.29 Russell 2000 +0.32% 1,980.23 Insights From Analysts: There is more downside risk to the market in the intermediate term, said Morgan Stanley’s Lisa Shalett. She noted that the prospect of interest rate cuts helped buoy stocks in the first quarter. The strength continued, thanks to decent first-quarter 2024 ...