Dow, S&P 500 set for weekly losses
Boeing, megacap shares recover after Thursday’s dour session
Workday falls after cutting revenue forecast
Ross Stores rises after Q1 results beat
Futures up: Dow 0.20%, S&P 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.38%
(Updated at 8:40 a.m. ET)
By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
May 24 (Reuters) – The main U.S. stock indexes were on track for a higher open on Friday, rebounding after Wall Street closed lower in the previous session on signs of persistent inflation that rekindled monetary policy caution ahead of a long weekend.
After riding high on Nvidia’s blowout revenue forecast and a 10-for-one stock split in early trade on Thursday, all three main indexes turned lower as economic data pointing to rising price pressures dented bets of interest-rate cuts this year.
Fresh data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed orders for durable goods rose 0.7% in April, compared with a 0.8% dip expected by economists polled by Reuters.
After a strong earnings season and expectation-beating forecasts from Nvidia, “the shift for investors now goes back to (the Fed),” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
“We’re going to be looking for all of that data and that will drive the market.”
For the day, next in line are the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment data and remarks from Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller.
Traders expect the U.S. central bank to ease its interest rates by 34 basis points by year-end.
The blue-chip Dow logged its biggest one-day drop since March 2023 on Thursday while the benchmark S&P 500 recorded its worst session in over three weeks. Both the indexes were set for weekly losses after four straight weeks of gains.
Nvidia shares gained 1.1% premarket after jumping more than 9% a day earlier, closing above the key $1,000 mark and adding around $218 billion to its market value.
Reuters reported the company’s most advanced AI chip developed for China had a weak start, with abundant supply forcing it to be priced below Huawei’s rival chip.
Other megacap stocks including Apple, Alphabet and Meta Platforms were also up between 0.3% and 0.7%.
The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday on account of Memorial Day.
U.S. equity funds secured substantial inflows in the week ended May 22, boosted by rate-cut hopes and optimism around robust corporate earnings. LSEG Lipper data showed investors pumped $9.9 billion into U.S. equity funds, significantly higher than the $4.1 billion recorded a week earlier.
Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings to date, 77.9% exceeded estimates, compared with a long-term average of 66.7%, LSEG data showed.
At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 79 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 18.75 points, or 0.35%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 70.25 points, or 0.38%.
Boeing rose 0.6%. The stock was the biggest drag on the Dow in the previous session, closing more than 7% lower.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to ether prices, potentially paving the way for products to begin trading later this year.
However, ProShares Ether Strategy ETF was down 2.5% after jumping more than 22% so far this week.
Workday dropped 10.8% after the human resources software provider cut its annual subscription revenue forecast.
Ross Stores jumped 7.1% after posting first-quarter results above estimates and raising its annual profit forecast.
Microchip Technology rose 1.9% after Mizuho upgraded the chipmaker to “buy” from “neutral”. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas and memek Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
