A trader works on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on January 26, 2023 in New York City.
Andrew Kelly | Portal
Stock futures fell on Friday morning as investors eye earnings and economic reports later in the day.
Futures linked to the Dow Industrial Average fell 42 points, or 0.12%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.36% and 0.7%, respectively. Intel’s shares plummeted more than 9% in after-hours trading after a dismal earnings report missed the top and bottom lines.
Stocks rose during regular trading on Thursday, hailing a better-than-expected fourth-quarter gross domestic product report that spurred hopes the US economy may enjoy a soft landing as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to tame inflation .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 205 points, or 0.61%, for its fifth straight session of gains, the first streak of this length since October. The S&P 500 rose 1.10% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.76%.
All three indices are positive for the week and month. The Dow and S&P 500 are up 1.7% and 2.2% respectively this week. The Nasdaq is up 3.3% for the week and looks set to post its best monthly performance since July.
“This year’s stock market rally is impressive and shouldn’t be ignored,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of the Independent Advisor Alliance it said in a Thursday note. “Unfortunately, the Fed is likely to start downplaying the market again as early as next week, so brace yourself for volatility again this year; We may be in the eye of the hurricane and not quite out of the woods yet.”
On Friday, investors will be on the lookout for economic reports that will provide more information on the state of inflation. Personal income and expenses and upcoming home sales for December are due in the morning. The consumer spending index, a favorite measure of inflation for the US Federal Reserve, is also due. Consumer sentiment for January is also released.
These are some of the latest data to be released ahead of the Fed’s next meeting, which begins in late January. Investors are currently expecting a rate hike of 0.25 percentage points from the central bank.
The winning season continues. American Express, Colgate-Palmolive and Chevron are among the companies due to report quarterly results on Friday. Investors may want to keep a close eye on Chevron’s report after the company announced a $75 billion share buyback and dividend increase on Wednesday.