United States equity futures traded in a mixed fashion on Thursday night (Friday AEST), after the S&P 500 marked its third consecutive record close earlier in the day.
By 9:35 am AEST (11:35 pm GMT) Dow futures added 0.4%, S&P futures were flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures eased 0.1%.
In extended trading, UnitedHealth surged 10.3% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new position in the insurer. Regulatory filings showed Berkshire purchased more than five million shares, valued at over $1.6 billion at the end of June.
Intel added 4.3%, building on a 7% rally during Thursday’s regular session, after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is in discussions to acquire a stake in the chipmaker to expand domestic manufacturing capacity.
Applied Materials slumped 13.6% in after-hours dealings despite reporting fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped market expectations. However, the semiconductor equipment maker’s guidance for the current quarter fell short of expectations, according to data from LSEG.
The muted move in futures followed a mixed session overnight in which stocks recovered from early declines triggered by hotter-than-expected July producer price index data.
The report tempered optimism generated earlier in the week by softer consumer price figures, which had fuelled expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate cut.
Looking ahead, investors on Friday will turn their focus to a slate of economic releases, including U.S. import prices, consumer sentiment, and retail sales, for further insight into inflation pressures and the health of consumer demand.
