S&P 500, Nasdaq Set To Open At Records Intraday

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite on Thursday were on pace to open at all-time intraday highs, extending the previous sessions upbeat trade, in the wake of minutes from the Federal Reserve. Those minutes were being read as pointing to a relatively tempered pace of rate hikes for the central bank, which is supportive for stocks that have risen amid ultralow rates. The S&P 500 index was looking at opening above its May 16 intraday high of 2,405.77, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was set to eclipse an intraday all-time high of 6,170.16, also reached on May 16, according to FactSet data. Futures for the S&P 500 and those for the Nasdaq-100 were both pointing to healthy opening gains, despite a slump in crude-oil futures after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers on Thursday in Vienna agreed to extend a pact to limit crude production to the first quarter of 2018, but didn't deepen those reductions. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was on track to post an open in the green, though about 0.5% away from its March 1 intraday record of 21,169.11. Futures for the Dow were showing a 0.3% gain.