Stock futures in the U.S. dipped slightly on Thursday night as investors analyzed a wave of corporate earnings and awaited a key inflation report. Despite a strong month for stocks, Wall Street was on track for a losing week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 35 points, S&P 500 futures dipped 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.19%. Traders were busy digesting the latest company earnings results, with Dell Technologies tumbling 16% despite beating expectations, while Zscaler surged 14% and MongoDB plunged 23%.
The previous session saw the major benchmarks closing lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping over 300 points, the S&P 500 falling 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite sliding 1.1%. This trend was attributed to Salesforce missing revenue expectations in its latest results.
Investors are growing concerned about the recent choppiness in the market, fearing that the rally may be losing steam. The dominance of large-cap tech stocks like Nvidia is masking weaknesses in the broader market, with the S&P 500 climbing 10% this year while the equal-weighted index is up only 3%.
Jeff deGraff, head of technical research at Renaissance Macro Research, warned against putting in fresh money at this point, noting that expectations are high and caution is warranted. The upcoming April personal consumption expenditure data is expected to show a 2.7% year-over-year increase for core PCE.
Despite the current uncertainties, stocks have had a strong month overall, with each of the major benchmarks set to register a sixth positive month in seven. The Dow is up 0.8%, the S&P 500 is higher by 4%, and the Nasdaq Composite is on track for its best month since November 2023, with a gain of about 7%.
