Stock Futures Edge Upward Following Another Day of Record Highs for Major Indices
U.S. stock futures showed a slight uptick on Friday following the attainment of new record highs by all three major indices in the previous session.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 25 points, marking a 0.06% increase, while both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures experienced gains of 0.1%.
During after-hours trading, FedEx shares surged by 13% in response to the company’s adjusted earnings surpassing analysts’ expectations for the quarter, despite a revenue miss. Conversely, Lululemon shares declined by 11% after the athletic apparel retailer issued cautious guidance due to decelerating growth in North America.
For the second consecutive day, all three primary stock indexes achieved record highs, reaching all-time intraday peaks as well. The Dow saw an uptick of approximately 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose by approximately 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of gains for these indices.
Market optimism appears to be partly fueled by the Federal Open Market Committee’s anticipation of three rate cuts this year, despite recent reports of heightened inflation. Art Hogan, the chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, attributes this optimism to the alignment between investor expectations and the Fed’s policy trajectory.
Hogan noted, “Investors have always been more aggressive on rate hikes and more aggressive on rate cuts than the fed funds futures markets, but the Fed has delivered through the dot plot and we finally lined up.”
He added, “You get a couple of inflation data points that are a touch hotter, and I think realistically the Street’s thought process has become much more rational and lines up well with where the Fed is right now.”
The major indices are on track to record healthy gains for the week, with the S&P 500 poised for a 2.4% increase and the Nasdaq set to rise nearly 2.7%. The Dow has outperformed the other indices, showing an increase of almost 2.8% through Thursday’s close, marking its best performance since December.
