Futures pull back as investors await data, Fed comments – Yahoo Finance

Lisa Pauline Matakal and Ankika Biswas

(Reuters) – Futures tracking Wall Street’s main stock indexes were in quiet but mixed trade on Monday as investors awaited the latest economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials this week for clarity on monetary policy.

S&P 500 futures were down slightly after hitting multiple record highs last week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged higher as big names such as Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia rose 0.2-0.6% in premarket trading.

Some semiconductor stocks also rose, with Broadcom Inc. and U.S.-listed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. each up 3%. Arm Holdings Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. each rose 1.6% after brokers raised their price targets.

Of the three major indexes, only the Dow posted a weekly decline on Friday, while the Nasdaq notched its fifth consecutive day of record highs and finished up 3.2% for the week.

But some investors are concerned about the sustainability of the rally, with large growth and technology stocks driving much of Wall Street’s gains this year.

Goldman Sachs raised its target for the S&P 500 index to 5,600 by the end of 2024 from 5,200, which would represent an increase of about 3.1% from the index’s most recent closing level.

This week’s economic indicators include the release of May retail sales data on Tuesday, with other key data including industrial production, housing starts and preliminary S&P purchasing managers’ index due to be released later in the week.

The New York Fed’s manufacturing survey is due to be released before the market opens on Monday, and comments from New York Fed President John Williams, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Fed Board President Lisa Cook are due later in the day.

The Federal Reserve’s recent hawkish forecasts contrast somewhat with several data releases that suggest the economy is weakening. The central bank on Wednesday lowered its forecast for three interest rate cuts in 2024 to one.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview Sunday that one rate cut in December is a “reasonable expectation.”

But LSEG data shows markets still expect around two 25 basis point rate cuts this year, while CME’s FedWatch tool shows easing is still expected to start from the September meeting.

“Chairman Powell described the US consumer as ‘resilient’ and we don’t think the market is pricing in a 1.5% Fed rate cut this year unless there are further downside surprises,” ING analysts said in a note.

As of 7:17 a.m. ET, the Dow e-mini was down 62 points (0.16%), the S&P 500 e-mini was down 3 points (0.06%) and the Nasdaq 100 e-mini was up 29.25 points (0.15%).

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Autodesk shares rose 4.1% after reports that activist investor Starboard Value had bought about $500 million worth of shares in the software maker.

Best Buy rose 3.3 percent after reports that UBS had raised its rating on the electronics retailer to “buy” from “neutral.”

Trading hours are expected to be shorter on Wednesday as the market is closed.

(Reporting by Lisa Matakkal and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Shamnath)