In a night of muted trading, U.S. stock futures remained near the flatline on Thursday as investors eagerly awaited the release of corporate earnings from major U.S. banks. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures saw a modest gain of 48 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures remained largely unchanged.

This calm trading session follows a strong rebound for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, driven by a comeback in tech shares after Wednesday's inflation-driven sell-off. The Nasdaq reached a new record, closing with a 1.68% gain, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.74%. However, the Dow continued to face headwinds, inching lower by 0.01% and posting its fourth consecutive day of losses.

Notably, Apple was among the top performers on Thursday, witnessing a 4.3% jump in its stock price. The tech giant made headlines after Bloomberg News reported its plans to revamp its Mac line of products with new artificial intelligence-focused chips. This propelled Apple to its best day since May 2023. Another AI darling, Nvidia, also experienced a notable surge of 4.1%, while e-commerce giant Amazon saw its stock reach an all-time high, closing with a 1.7% increase.

Analysts suggest that the role of artificial intelligence will be crucial in determining which stocks lead the ongoing bull run. Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, highlighted the divergence between the Nasdaq and the Dow as evidence of this trend, stating that the market is still driven by AI advancements.

Tech-centric gains on Thursday helped mitigate the S&P 500's weekly losses, narrowing it down to a 0.1% decline for the period. In contrast, the Nasdaq is on track to close the week with a 1.2% gain. However, the Dow continues to underperform, poised for a 1.1% decline week to date.

Looking ahead, the first-quarter earnings season will kick off in earnest on Friday, with major U.S. financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, BlackRock, and State Street set to report before the market opens.

As of now, here's where the major averages stand for the week leading up to Friday's trading:
- The S&P 500 is down 0.10%.
- The Nasdaq Composite is up 1.19%.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.14%.
- The Russell 2000 is down 1.01%.

With investors eagerly awaiting the upcoming bank earnings reports, the market's focus remains on the performance of these major financial institutions and the implications it may have for the broader market in the days ahead.