After Thursday’s mixed close, stocks appear to be headed for a positive start, although Monday’s Labor Day holiday will likely keep volume anemic. The index futures were solidly higher early Friday and sustenance of the sentiment hinges largely on an inflation readout due ahead of the market open. The futures market has priced in a 100% probability of a rate cut and the only uncertainty there is the magnitude of the reduction. If Friday’s inflation does nothing to force a reassessment, the market could launch into a strong rally. A rebound by tech stocks could also provide a thrust to the market.
Futures
Performance (+/-)
Nasdaq 100
+0.68%
S&P 500
+0.39%
Dow
+0.17%
R2K
+0.34%
In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 0.46% to $560.91, and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) jumped 0.72% to $474.03, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Wall Street showed resilience on Thursday as the market weathered the negative reaction to artificial intelligence stalwart Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings. Nvidia fell 6.38% despite the company reporting a second-quarter beat and issuing above-consensus third-quarter guidance.
An upward revision to second-quarter GDP growth gave the market an early thrust, with a slew of other positive earnings adding further momentum. Commenting on the GDP report, Comerica Chief Economist Bill Adams said, “The GDP revisions show the U.S. economy was in good shape in mid-2024.”
“Solid growth of consumer spending propelled the economy forward in the second quarter, and the increase of consumer confidence in July suggests it will propel growth in the second half of the year as well,” he added.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and ...
