US stock futures are slightly lower; Trump speaks in Davos By Investing.com

Investing.com – U.S. stock index futures were mostly lower on Thursday, after the S&P 500 index rallied to a new high, ahead of incoming President Donald Trump’s speech in Davos.

At 05:45 ET (10:45 GMT), they were down 7 points, or 0.1%, down 13 points, or 0.2%, and down 115 points, or 0.5%.

The main Wall Street indexes ended Wednesday’s gains by 0.6%, after hitting record highs during the day, up 1.3% and 0.3%.

Underlying these gains were tech stocks, with the sector’s best individual performer being Netflix (NASDAQ: ), which reported strong holiday quarter results boosted by subscriber numbers on the streaming video platform.

Trump to speak in Davos.

Trump will remain focused on Thursday as the new president prepares to address the World Economic Conference in Davos, Switzerland, remotely.

The exact topics Trump will cover in his first major speech to global business and political leaders since returning to the White House are unclear, but investors are looking for more clarity on the threat of universal tariffs on U.S. imports. As well as his position on major geopolitical and economic issues such as the Ukraine-Russia war, the future of Israel-Palestine relations and economic competition with China.

Since his inauguration earlier this week, Trump has signed a number of executive orders covering a variety of issues, including immigration, diversity and labor. He has also moved to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, and has said he will push to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico and return the Panama Canal from Panama.

Corporate income continued.

Economic data due Thursday includes the weekly, followed by manufacturing data from the Kansas City Fed.

Quarterly earnings from the likes of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ) , GE Aerospace (NYSE: ) and the like American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: ) were also on tap.

Also, shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ) fell in premarket trading after the video game maker cut its net booking guidance due to sluggish performance of its football title.

Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: ) shares rose in premarket after fourth-quarter results showed improved operating margins Alaska Air (NYSE: ) boosted estimates on the top and bottom lines after fourth-quarter results.

Crude slides down.

Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending their latest decline following a surge in U.S. crude, as traders sought to boost U.S. output under President Donald Trump.

U.S. crude futures (WTI) were down 0.1 percent at $75.40 a barrel at 05:45 ET, while the Brent contract was down 0.1 percent at $78.92 a barrel.

Crude prices fell from near six-month highs last week as uncertainty weighed on Trump’s energy and trade policies. The signing of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reduced some of the crude risk premium.

Additionally, data released on Wednesday showed US inventories rose 1 million barrels in the week to Jan. 17 after five straight weeks of draws.

The official inventory numbers, from , will arrive later in the session.

(Ayushmann Ojha contributed to this article.)