Stocks Mostly Up Pre-Bell as Trump Denies Speculation About Firing Fed Chair Powell; Corporate Earnings on Deck

07:26 AM EDT, 07/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were mostly pointing higher before the opening bell Thursday as President Donald Trump dismissed reports that he was planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while investors await more corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged up 0.1% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.1%. The indexes closed the previous trading session in the green, with the Nasdaq closing at a new high and notching its third consecutive day of gains.

Trump reportedly said Wednesday that it was "highly unlikely" he will remove Powell from his post in the near future, but didn't "rule out anything." Trump's comments came after CNBC reported that he "likely will soon" remove Powell as Fed chair, citing a senior White House official.

Trump continued to criticize Powell, saying the central bank's chief is doing a "lousy job." Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to lower interest rates.

US Treasury yields were moving up in premarket action, with the two-year rate rising 2.2 basis points to 3.91% and the 10-year rate increasing 1.2 basis points to 4.47%.

GE Aerospace (GE), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) , Pepsico (PEP) , Marsh & McLennan (MMC) , Cintas (CTAS) , Elevance Health (ELV) , US Bancorp (USB) , Travelers (TRV) and Snap-On (SNA) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others. Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) posts earnings after the markets close.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (TSM) US-listed shares inclined 3.9% pre-bell after the company reported second-quarter results. Novartis (NVS) shares on the New York stock exchange slipped 0.2% as the Swiss pharmaceutical giant announced mixed quarterly results.

United Airlines (UAL) fell 2.7% as the carrier missed second-quarter revenue estimates amid operational constraints at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin, the retail sales report for June, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for July and the import and export prices report for last month are out at 8:30 am ET. Thursday's economic calendar also has the housing market index for the current month at 10 am.

Government data on Wednesday showed that US producer prices remained unchanged last month amid an increase in wholesale costs of goods and a decline in the services component, a day after data showed an uptick in consumer inflation.

US economic activity rebounded between late May and early this month, though concerns about rising cost pressures grew, the Fed said Wednesday in its Beige Book. Industrial production rose more than expected in June to mark the first gain in four months, the Fed said in a separate report.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil inched 0.4% higher to $66.62 a barrel before the open. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US fell more than projected last week, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

Gold decreased 0.7% to $3,335 per troy ounce, while bitcoin moved down 0.6% to $118,430.

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