(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, setting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq for a fourth straight week of gains on easing bets of another super-sized interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 is up 15% from its mid-June low, with the latest boost coming from a slower-than-expected rise in consumer prices and a surprise drop in producer prices in July.
The benchmark index is within sight of a 50% retracement of its bear market loss and investors are watching the 4,231 level. The index last closed at 4,207.27.
“The major indices are trading near highs going back to May and June and those highs are now serving as near-term resistance,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments.
“At the same time, you have the never-ending tug of war going on between the bulls and the bears that is causing the market to just get a little bit weaker up here.”
While policymakers remain firm about a further tightening in monetary policy until inflation pressures fully abate, traders see a 63.5% chance of the Fed raising rates by 50 basis points next month instead of a 75 basis points hike. [FEDWATCH]
The Fed has raised its policy rate by 225 basis points since March as it battles to cool demand without sparking a sharp rise in layoffs.
High-growth and technology stocks such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 0.9% each in trading before the bell as investors flocked back to riskier assets.
Growth stocks have underpeformed their value counterparts so far this year on worries that rising Treasury yields due to aggressive rate hikes will pressure their valuation.
Investors bought $7.1 billion in equities in the week to Wednesday, according to a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) note, with U.S. growth stocks recording their largest weekly inflow since December last year.
Meanwhile, banks looked set to extend their rally for sixth straight week, with JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) advancing in premarket trading.
At 8:45 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 137 points, or 0.41%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 19 points, or 0.45%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 69.5 points, or 0.52%.
Rivian Automotive Inc rose 1.4% as the electric-vehicle maker reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue.
The University of Michigan’s preliminary survey of consumer sentiment for August is expected at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Source: Economy - investing.com
