Stock futures fall to end record week



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John Nacion | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Contracts linked to major US stock indexes slipped Thursday night as Wall Street seemed to want to end the record week on a muffled note.

Dow futures fell 34 points while S&P 500 futures ticked just below the flat line. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 11.75 points, or about 0.1%.

The after-hours moves came after a strong performance from the Nasdaq Composite earlier in the day during the regular session.

The index hit another record high as investors bet for strong tech earnings next week. The tech-heavy benchmark climbed 0.6% to close at a new high largely thanks to a 3.7% rise in Apple shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both had quieter sessions, with the former dipping 12 points and the latter rising less than 0.1% to hit another high.

Hopes for a robust earnings season for the nation’s biggest communications and tech stocks kept mega-cap stocks trending higher and major indexes near record highs during the shortened holiday week.

Apple and Facebook rose 7.7% and 8.6% respectively this week ahead of their quarterly results, while Microsoft gained 5.8%.

Wall Street’s eyes are still on Washington as new President Joe Biden struggles to lay the groundwork for his Covid-19 and economic recovery agenda.

Investors are increasingly convinced that a lean version of Biden’s original $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill will be considered by Congress. Some moderate senators have expressed doubts about the need for another bill, especially one with such a price tag, less than a month after Congress passed a $ 900 billion stimulus in December.

Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to overwhelmingly confirm former Fed Chairman Janet Yellen as Biden’s Treasury Secretary on Friday. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the department.

In business news, IBM shares fell more than 6% in the extended session after the company reported lower fourth-quarter sales than analysts expected. Revenue fell 6% on an annualized basis, the fourth consecutive quarter of decline.

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