United States stock futures were flat on Thursday night (Friday AEST) as investors turned their attention to the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
By 9:50 am (11:50 pm GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures traded within a range of ±0.1%.
In extended trading, Costco shares slipped 0.8% despite the retailer reporting stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results.
Earnings came in at $5.87 per share on revenue of $86.16 billion, topping expectations of $5.80 per share on $86.01 billion.
Concentrix, meanwhile, tumbled 22% after reporting adjusted earnings of $2.78 per share, missing forecasts of $2.87 per share, though its $2.48 billion in revenue narrowly exceeded expectations.
The market’s focus is now on Friday’s release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
Economists anticipate a modest uptick, though futures markets still reflect expectations for two quarter-point rate cuts at the Fed’s upcoming meetings, in line with central bank projections.
Thursday’s economic reports, however, tempered investor optimism. Weekly jobless claims fell to 218,000, below forecasts, while second-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 3.8%.
The data suggested resilience in the economy, which some investors fear could give the Fed reason to hold back on easing policy.
The three major U.S. indexes declined again on Thursday, weighed down by higher Treasury yields and losses in major technology names.
For the week to date, the Dow is down 0.8%, the S&P 500 nearly 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite about 1.1%.
