US stock index futures were higher on Thursday ahead of the release of a series of closely watched economic data.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and those tied to the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%, while futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been trending higher for five sessions on optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon and the economy will not slide into recession.

Market participants are eagerly awaiting monthly retail sales, weekly unemployment numbers and other economic reports, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, for further confirmation that the economy is on solid footing. Investors will also be closely watching comments from Fed officials, who will speak later Thursday, for clues as to how the data will factor into the central bank’s decision on rate cuts.

Walmart (WMT) shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading after the retail giant reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its forecast. Cisco (CSCO) gained 7% after the company released a strong earnings report and announced job cuts.

Shares of major technology companies, which have been particularly volatile of late, showed mixed readings before the market opened on Thursday. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) gained, while AI investor favorites Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOGL) lost ground.

The yield on 10-year government bonds, which is sensitive to interest rate cut expectations, rose slightly to 3.85 percent.

Gold futures rose 1% to around $2,500 an ounce, close to a record high, while Bitcoin held steady at around $58,500.