Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday after the Nasdaq climbed to a new high.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 152 points, or 0.39%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.41% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.39%.
American airlines The company fell more than 6% in after-hours trading after slashing its second-quarter sales forecast. JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines Each fell about 2% on sympathy. retail brokerage Robin Hood Shares rose about 3% after announcing a $1 billion stock buyback plan.
Tuesday, Nasdaq Index Stocks rose 0.6%, hitting a record high and closing above 17,000 for the first time, driven by a nearly 7% gain Nvidia. However, the tech-heavy index is an outlier because S&P 500 Index Level 30 only rose slightly by 0.02% Dow Chemical The company’s share price fell nearly 0.6%, dragged down by the decline in Merck’s share price.
Still, the major stock indexes are expected to end the month with impressive gains, driven in part by enthusiasm for a better-than-expected quarterly earnings season. The S&P 500 is up 5.4% this month and the Dow Jones is up 2.7%. The Nasdaq index rose sharply by 8.7% in May, significantly outperforming the market.
The gains came despite traders lowering expectations for a rate cut from the Federal Reserve. In fact, federal funds futures trading data shows that the probability of interest rates remaining stable in September is close to 54%. CME Group Fed Watch Tool.
“The expected cuts are smaller, but they are really for the right reasons. The economy has been good. Inflation Progress is underway. “The reality is that 3% or even 2.7% inflation is really good for corporate profits. I think the earnings outlook is actually much better than most people expected…and you can see why stocks have room to rise. “
Investors are watching Friday’s personal income and spending report for April, which includes PCE inflation data.
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