Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) June 29, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures were near flat on Thursday night as Wall Street awaited new inflation data due Friday morning.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures ticked higher by 0.03%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.02%.
A mixed batch of earnings reports sent stocks in diverging directions after hours. Intel jumped more than 8% as investors applauded a return to profitability, while Roku climbed 8.5% after beating Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines. On the other hand, T-Mobile slid nearly 2% after revenue came in weaker than anticipated.
Investors will watch for June data for the personal consumption expenditures price index, a gauge of inflation that’s closely followed by the Federal Reserve. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect core PCE gained 0.2% from the prior month and climbed 4.2% when compared with the same month a year prior.
The data is of particular interest after the central bank raised interest rates earlier this week in a widely expected move. Wall Street is now trying to guess how, or if, they will move them going forward.
“We don’t have to love the Fed, but we know how they think,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “Given that most people think the Fed won’t increase again, if this PCE number comes in hot, then that’s going to shake that confidence. We think it’s going to print cool, but you never know until you know.”
Wall Street is coming off a losing session. The Dow‘s nearly 0.7% tumble marked the end of a 13-day win streak, a length not seen since 1987. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each finished around 0.6% lower.
The Dow and the Nasdaq are on pace for narrow weekly gains. The 30-stock average is up 0.16%, while the tech-heavy index has a 0.12% gain through Thursday’s close. The S&P 500 is flat on the week, up only 0.02%.
Elsewhere on Friday, investors will watch for data on employment costs, personal income, consumer spending and consumer sentiment. Corporate season continues with Procter & Gamble, expected to report before the bell.