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U.S. equity futures edged lower in early Wednesday trading, while the dollar slumped and Treasury bonds rallied, as investors looked to a key set of growth and inflation data heading into the final full trading day of the Thanksgiving holiday week.
Stocks end at fresh record highs Tuesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.57% on the session to extend its year-to-date advance past 25.5% following some solid consumer confidence data and news of a Biden-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that could stabilize a region devastated by two years on conflict.Â
Bond markets, which have been active for most of the week amid a slate of new Treasury auctions and a host of names being nominated to President-elect Donald Trump’s new economic team, extended their rally overnight following a cautious set of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s November policy meeting.
Traders are still betting on a quarter point rate cut when the Fed meets for the final time this year next month on Washington, but have pared bets on further reductions into 2025 as officials said that “monetary policy decisions were not on a pre-set course and were conditional on the evolution of the economy and the implications for the economic outlook”.
Benchmark 10-year note yields were marked 4 basis points lower overnight at 4.263% while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.219%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.54% lower at 106.439.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish the Fed’s favored inflation gauge for the month of October, the PCE price index, at 8:30 am Eastern time, alongside weekly jobless claims figures and a second reading of third quarter GDP from the Commerce Department.Â
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which closed at a record 6,021.63 points last night, are priced for a modest 9 point opening bell decline.
Related: Goldman Sachs analyst sees starting point for year-end S&P 500 rally
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are indicating a 35 point slip while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq are called 55 points lower at the start of trading.
Dell Technologies (DELL) shares were a notable premarket mover, falling 12.5% to #124 each after the laptop computer maker issued a muted holiday forecast following weaker-than-expected third quarter earnings.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Walmart analysts reset stock price targets ahead of Black Friday
- Analysts revamp Cisco stock price targets after earnings
- Analysts revisit Applied Materials stock price targets after Q4 earnings
Stocks were broadly lower in overseas trading, with investors reacting to Trump’s newest cabinet pick, Jamieson Greer, as U.S. Trade Representative. Greer, who worked closely with Trump on tariff decisions during his first term, is seen as hawkish on trade issues with the largest U.S. partner.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 was marked 0.3% lower in mid-day Frankfurt trading, with the FTSE 100 edging 0.13% higher in London.Â
Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% as the yen rose to a three-week high against the weaker U.S. dollar, while the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 0.53% into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
