Stock futures open lower, extending past declines



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Stock futures opened lower Thursday night to extend the decline from the regular session.

S&P 500 contracts fell. Earlier in the regular session, the Nasdaq was lagging behind as tech and growth stocks were pressured to sell as concerns about the strength of the recovery in the US economy mounted.

This week, investors gathered a wealth of new economic data as well as a first batch of second quarter results. Economically, the data has been mixed, with consumer and producer price increases rising the most in decades due to supply chain constraints and labor shortages.

Yet during testimony in Congress Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested it was still too early for the central bank to step in and slow down some ultra-accommodative monetary policies to contain the inflation, given the labor market and other areas of the economy yet to recover more fully from the pandemic. Friday’s Commerce Department’s retail sales report is expected to show more moderation on the demand side of the economy, with U.S. retail sales likely down 0.3% in June m.n. second consecutive month of decline.

“We continue to believe that too many people are focusing on inflation… this is the predominant theme we have dealt with and discussed with our clients [about]Brian Belski, chief investment strategist for BMO Capital Markets, told Yahoo Finance. “And I don’t think that’s going to go away any time soon. “

At the same time, the results of corporate profits that poured in from the big financial companies were also mixed. Banks such as Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) beat consensus estimates on quarterly sales and earnings, but also showed signs of slowing growth under the hood in key business segments, as demand for loans and fixed income trading was weaker than expected.

Overall, however, expectations for the second quarter earnings season remain high, with consensus on Wall Street looking for overall S&P 500 earnings per share growth of more than 60% from the previous year. ‘last year. Next week’s influx of earnings reporters, which will include some big names like Netflix (NFLX) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), will provide a more complete picture of how U.S. companies are faring as more and more sectors of the economy reopened in the spring and early summer.

“I think we could see another quarter of beats until we get back to a fourth quarter where the comparison is a little more difficult,” Josh Wein, portfolio manager of Hennessy Funds, told Yahoo Finance. “Things started to open up again in the fourth quarter of 2020. And so, right now, I think we’re seeing these beautiful beats and increases. It’ll come back to Earth, I guess, in the fourth quarter, and certainly in the first quarter. . “

6:06 p.m. ET Thursday: equity futures decline

Here’s where the markets were trading Thursday night

  • S&P 500 Futures Contracts (ES = F): 4,348.00, -4 points (-0.09%)

  • Dow Futures (YM = F): 34,835.00, -29 points (-0.08%)

  • Nasdaq Futures (NQ = F): 14,777.00, -10.5 points (-0.07%)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 02: Exterior view of the New York Stock Exchange and Wall St. as a new Organon company to begin trading next Thursday in New York City on June 02, 2021. Organon is looking to expand to provide treatment for other conditions unique to women, around 80% of the new company's income will come from outside the United States (Photo by Kena Betancur / VIEWpress)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 02: Exterior view of the New York Stock Exchange and Wall St. as a new Organon company start trading next Thursday in New York on June 02, 2021. Organon is looking to expand to provide treatment for other conditions unique to women, around 80% of the new company’s income will come from outside the United States (Photo by Kena Betancur / VIEWpress)

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck



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