U.S. stocks futures were on track to extend its run into record book on Thursday, though futures took a slight step back after a surprise decision by the Bank of England to leave monetary policy unchanged.
Futures moved higher ahead of the decision, but then pared back, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average last up 146 points, or 0.8%, to 18,433, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 16.85 points, or 0.8%, to 2,162.75 Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index climbed 30.75, or 0.7%, to 4,592.
Dow futures had been up more than 200 points, those for the S&P 500 were up 23 points and the Nasdaq-100 enjoyed a nearly 40-point rise before the BOE decision.
If the benchmarks manage to keep the gains through the end of the trading day, the S&P 500 index and Dow average will score another record close and a fifth straight advance. The S&P 500 and the Dow eked out meager gains on Wednesday, but enough to land them in record territory as investors waited for the rate decision from the Bank of England.
Taking the market by surprise, the U.K. central bank left key rates unchanged at 0.5%, but said most members see looser policy coming at the August meeting. Some had expected the central bank would ease on the heels of the U.K.'s Brexit referendum in June, which sparked jitters in financial markets as well as fear of a recession in the country.
"I think today's decision by the BOE was to send a message to the markets It's business as usual, but a rate cut is coming and the Fed will continue to stay on sidelines. This is positive for stocks as the no alternative play continues," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with First Standard Financial, in emailed comments.