Investing.com – U.S. stock index futures steadied in evening trading on Thursday following a positive session on Wall Street as data showing a bigger-than-expected decline in unemployment numbers allayed some recession fears.

Wall Street indexes rallied sharply on Thursday, recouping some of this week’s heavy losses on positive earnings and continued speculation about rate cuts. However, U.S. stock indexes remained headed for a dismal weekly performance after their sharp decline on Monday.

fell 0.1% to 5,344.75 points, while it stabilized at 18,538.0 points at 20:27 ET (00:27 GMT). fell 0.1% to 39,563.0 points.

Wall Street recovers but still faces weekly decline

Wall Street indexes posted strong gains on Thursday after falling to 233,000 points last week, according to data, beating expectations of 241,000 points.

Nevertheless, US markets were heading for weekly losses after rising recession fears led to sharp declines earlier this week.

Unexpectedly more aggressive signals from the Japanese central bank and massive profit-taking in the technology sector also unsettled the markets.

This caused the Nasdaq to fall from recent highs into a correction zone.

The rose by 2.3% to 5,319.31 points, while the rose by 2.9% to 16,659.0 points on Thursday. The rose by 1.8% to 39,446.49 points.

But all three indices lost between 0.7 and 3 percent this week, with the S&P and Nasdaq heading for their fourth consecutive week of losses.

CPI data due after volatile week

There are few major signals for trading on Wall Street for the rest of the week, with the focus now turning to the important inflation data due out next week.

This reading comes at a time of growing belief that inflation in the US is easing and gives the US Federal Reserve enough confidence to begin cutting interest rates in September.

Recent recession fears had traders expecting the Fed to cut interest rates by a whopping 50 basis points next month, down from a previous expectation of just 25 basis points.

Expedia rises due to positive returns, array falls

Among major aftermarket players, Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:) rose 10% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results as bookings were boosted by robust travel demand.

On the other hand, Array Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:) lost 12.7% after the solar energy technology maker lowered its annual forecast.