Futures recover after inflation jitters dent Wall Street

[May 24, 2024]  By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, rebounding after Wall Street closed lower in the previous session on signs of persistent inflation that rekindled monetary policy caution ahead of a long weekend.

After riding high on Nvidia's blowout revenue forecast and a 10-for-one stock split in early trade on Thursday, all three main indexes turned lower as economic data pointing to rising price pressures dented bets of interest-rate cuts this year.

"Recent comments from Fed officials, stronger-than-expected PMI data resulted in a push-back on expectations for Fed cut trajectory," OCBC strategists said in a note.

"These developments reinforced the view that markets remain sensitive to data. The data also served as a reminder that the current high-for-longer rates environment may persist for a longer period."

Investor focus now shifts to more economic data including durable goods for April and the University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment, along with remarks from Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller - all scheduled for the day.

Traders expect the U.S. central bank to ease its interest rates by 35.6 basis points by year-end.

The blue-chip Dow logged its biggest one-day drop since March 2023 on Thursday while the benchmark S&P 500 recorded its worst session in over three weeks. Both the indexes were set for weekly losses after four straight weeks of gains.

Nvidia shares gained 1% in premarket trading after jumping over 9% a day earlier, closing above the key $1,000 mark and adding around $218 billion to its market value.

Reuters reported the company's most advanced AI chip developed for China had a weak start, with abundant supply forcing it to be priced below Huawei's rival chip.

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

Other megacap stocks including Apple, Alphabet and Meta Platforms were also up between 0.4% and 0.8%.

The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday on account of Memorial Day.

At 7:03 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 53 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 14.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 54.25 points, or 0.29%.

Boeing shares rose 0.7%. The company was the biggest drag on the Dow in the previous session, closing over 7% lower.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to ether prices, potentially paving the way for products to begin trading later this year.

However, ProShares Ether Strategy ETF was down 2.4% after jumping more than 22% so far this week.

Workday dropped 12.1% after the human resources software provider cut its annual subscription revenue forecast.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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