Futures slip as investors brace for inflation numbers

[May 31, 2024]  (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on Friday ahead of a key inflation report that will test investor optimism about the scale and pace of interest-rate reductions by the Federal Reserve this year.

Wall Street paused this week after a recent rally, with the benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq on track for their first weekly losses in six. A spike in Treasury yields pressured riskier assets, following a weak debt auction and protracted worries of sticky inflation.

Policymakers have also showed no urgency to ease borrowing costs, while continuing to stress inflation would fall this year, even as the labor market stays strong.

However, Thursday's revision in first-quarter economic growth on softer consumption assuaged some fears, as bond yields slipped and expectations for a September rate cut inched up to above 50%. The odds had stayed below those levels for the entire week, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

All eyes will now be on April's core Personal Consumption Expenditure data, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index is expected to be unchanged from the previous month at 2.8%, on an annual basis.

"Where the actual release lands will determine whether we are entering a new chapter for the Fed disinflation story or whether it remains trapped in the wreckage of sticky inflation," Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING said in a note.

Also on tap are comments from Atlanta President Raphael Bostic, a Federal Open Market Committee voting member, later in the day.

Technology stocks including Microsoft, Nvidia and ServiceNow were little changed in premarket trading, after the sector notched its worst day in over a month in the previous session following a grim second-quarter forecast from Salesforce. The company's shares were up 0.4%.

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

At 5:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 29 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 10.5 points, or 0.20%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 62.25 points, or 0.34%.

Among big movers, Dell forecast current-quarter profit below market estimates and signaled that higher costs to build servers that meet heavy AI workloads would dent annual margins, sending its shares down more than 14%.

Zscaler jumped 17% after the security-solutions provider forecast fourth-quarter results above estimates, while Marvell Technology dropped 4.6% after the chipmaker missed Street expectations for first-quarter revenue, hurt by weak client spending in its wireless carrier and enterprise markets.

Gap surged 23% after the apparel maker raised its annual sales forecast and its first-quarter results beat market expectations, boosted by strength in its Old Navy and Gap brands as Americans snap up its trendy denims and limited edition apparel.

Trump Media & Technology Group dropped 4.3% after a New York jury convicted former President Donald Trump of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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