A trader is seen working on the New York Stock Exchange floor.
NYSE
Stocks are pretty much sitting still as traders eye important inflation numbers coming up.
Futures for the Dow Jones increased by 18 points, which is about 0.04%. Meanwhile, the S&P futures went up by 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged up by 0.05%.
On Friday, everyone is looking forward to the August Personal Consumption Expense Price Index report. This particular index is a key inflation indicator for the Federal Reserve. Many economists are hoping for upticks in inflation data, especially since the market has been predicting two rate cuts at the next Fed meetings, following what the Fed has suggested.
But, there’s a chance that the market could react negatively after last Thursday’s employment data showed a solid job market, combined with an upward revision of second-quarter GDP. This could mean fewer layoffs, which some investors fear suggests the economy is doing well enough that the Fed may not cut rates as anticipated.
The three major U.S. stock indexes fell once again on Thursday; however, the financial sector saw a slight increase at one point, rising to 4.2% in response to the recent economic figures.
Notably, some big players in the AI sector like Oracle, Meta, and Tesla saw a decline. Oracle, for instance, dropped by 5.6%, indicating that investors might be concerned that tech stocks are getting overvalued, putting the entire AI industry at risk.
This week, the S&P 500 lost nearly 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by about 1.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 0.8%.
Following this week’s downturn, some investors are still cautious but are looking for long-term buying opportunities. Andrew Slimmon, who heads Applied Equity Advisors at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, mentioned he plans to use the downturn to bolster his tech investments.
“The market is indeed vulnerable to pullbacks, especially since tech has been leading the way,” Slimmon remarked. “I’m not panicking over the current movements. A pullback can be healthy for the market, though I wouldn’t call speculation a good long-term sign.”
