U.S. stock futures were volatile on Friday after losing steam on Thursday. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower in premarket.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed the annual inflation rate falling to a six-month low of 2.4% in March, down from 2.8% in February and below the expected 2.6%.
Monthly, the Consumer Price Index contracted by 0.1%, a decrease from the previous month’s 0.2% increase and below the anticipated 0.1% rise, marking the lowest monthly reading since May 2020.
Investors will keep an eye on the headline and core producer price index data for March and April’s consumer sentiment data, slated to be released later today. Major banks will kick off the earnings season as they report earnings before the market opens on Friday.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.40% and the two-year bond was at 3.80%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 61.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its May meeting.
Futures
Change (+/-)
Dow Jones
-0.49%
S&P 500
-0.34%
Nasdaq 100
-0.33%
Russell 2000
-0.32%
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.52% to $521.85, while the QQQ declined 0.58% to $443.60, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
Energy, information technology, and communication services sectors led Thursday’s U.S. stock market decline, overshadowing a rise in consumer staples.
The broader market saw the Dow Jones briefly plunge over 1,000 points as investors considered economic risks despite a newly announced 90-day tariff pause.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 4%, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) declined 6%, and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) slipped 7% as these were the significant individual stock decliners.
On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index fell to 2.4% in March, below expectations, with monthly inflation turning negative for the first time since May 2020.
After Thursday’s fall, the Nasdaq 100 index was 17.46% lower than its previous high of 22,222.61 points. The S&P 500 index was down 14.31% from its record of 6,147.43 points, and the Dow Jones declined 12.16% from its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points.
The Dow Jones index dropped 1,015 points or …Full story available on Benzinga.com
