LDN - Business

S&P 500, Nasdaq futures hover near record highs ahead of retail sales data

[June 18, 2024] (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were steady on Tuesday, with those tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hovering around record highs, ahead of retail sales data and commentary from a number of Federal Reserve officials.

Technology stocks lifted the benchmark S&P 500 to its fifth record high close in six sessions on Monday, and the Nasdaq to its sixth consecutive record close.

Megacaps Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet edged higher between 0.1% and 0.7% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Chipmakers Broadcom, Micron and U.S.-listed shares of Arm Holdings rose between 0.5% and 2.7% after their strong showing in Monday trade boosted the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index to a record high.

Focus now moves to fresh economic data in the United States, where May retail sales will be closely watched, as well as industrial production and business inventory data.

Comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials will also be scrutinized for clues on how the central bank's members view the current economic situation and path ahead for monetary policy, after recent projections showed the Fed now sees just one interest rate cut this year instead of the three previously forecast.

Still, markets have pounced on a string of economic data indicating some weakness among consumers and in the labor market, and are predominately pricing in nearly 50 basis points of easing this year, according to LSEG data.

"The depth and pace of the cutting cycle is still to be determined, but we see two cuts this calendar year," John Velis, Americas macro strategist at BNY Mellon, said.

Six Fed speakers are scheduled for Tuesday, including voting committee members Thomas Barkin and Adriana Kugler, as well as Susan Collins, Austan Goolsbee, Lorie Logan, and Alberto Musalem. [FED/DIARY]

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Hopes for multiple rate cuts this year, enthusiasm for artificial intelligence linked companies and strong earnings from other tech firms have helped support equities, although rallies over the past few months have largely been on the back of a handful of stocks.

Futures tracking the blue-chip Dow and the Russell 2000 slipped on Tuesday. The small-cap Russell is already down more than 2% for the month.

At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 5 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 37.25 points, or 0.19%.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 3.2% after forecasting lower-than-expected third-quarter home deliveries after the bell on Monday.

NextEra Energy fell 5.5%, extending losses from the previous session after the utility firm announced a sale of $2 billion equity units at $50.

Edtech company Chegg jumped 20% after announcing job cuts as part of a restructuring plan.

Markets will be closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.

(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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