Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on December 17, 2024.
New York Stock Exchange
U.S. stock futures were little changed late Thursday as traders anticipated the latest reading from the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge.
futures Linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and S&P 500 Index Futureshovering near the plane line. Nasdaq 100 Index Futures were also relatively unchanged.
In an extension transaction, fedex and Nike Both posted gains after their latest quarterly results. The delivery giant gained about 8%, while the sportswear retailer gained more than 7%.
During Thursday’s trading session, Dow Chemical It was the only major index of the three to close in positive territory, eking out a gain of 15 points and ending a 10-day losing streak – the longest since 1974. rose for the first time since.
Dow Jones rose slightly on Thursday, narrowing losses S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Index ——as 10-Year Treasury Bond Yield A second straight day of gains weighed on stocks.
Investors are now looking forward to November data on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that the PCE could show 12-month inflation above the central bank’s 2% target, and the report, due to be released on Friday, could be of greater significance.
Analysts polled by Dow Jones expected the index to rise 0.2% this month and 2.5% on the year. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, is also expected to rise 0.2% monthly and 2.9% annually.
“Whatever the reaction is, it’s likely to be more serious than it was before the Fed actually raised these expectations,” Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategy at Horizon Investments, told CNBC.
The move comes after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point earlier this week and said there may be only two rate cuts in 2025, fewer than previously expected. That sent markets into chaos on Wednesday, with all three major stock indexes falling.
The latest round of turmoil also has major stock indexes expected to fall sharply on a weekly basis. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones are down more than 3% so far this week, while the Nasdaq is down more than 2% over the same period.
Other economic reports are also due Friday, including the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index.
–CNBC’s Sarah Min contributed to this report.
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