New York City, NY: Stock futures showed mixed trading on Friday morning as investors sought to maintain the strong momentum of the broader market and anticipated new U.S. inflation data. S&P futures rose by 0.2%, Nasdaq-100 futures increased by 0.6%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped by 0.1%. At 8:30 a.m. ET, the producer price index for January was set to be released, with economists anticipating a 0.1% gain. Housing starts and building permits numbers were also on the horizon.
This week, the U.S. economy has been under scrutiny following the release of hotter-than-expected consumer price index data and a sharp decline in January retail sales, which may indicate further weakness in consumer spending. Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, noted that market expectations and Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy projections have aligned more closely, leading to reduced market volatility. Furthermore, better-than-expected economic data has driven the market’s repricing of rate cuts, decreasing the likelihood of a hard-landing scenario.
The S&P 500 closed at a new record high on Thursday, with the Dow and Nasdaq also posting gains in the previous session. For the week, the broad market index is up by less than 0.1%, while the Dow is 0.3% higher after experiencing its largest one-day loss since March 2023 on Tuesday. On the other hand, the Nasdaq is down by 0.53%.
In corporate news, shares of DoorDash, a food delivery service, fell 7.4% due to a wider-than-expected loss, while Trade Desk, a digital advertising company, surged about 18.9% after surpassing analysts’ fourth-quarter revenue estimates and offering a positive outlook for the first quarter. Additionally, shares of semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials jumped 12% on positive earnings results.