(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as Treasury yields extended declines from the previous session after recent weak economic data supported bets of a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve next year.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq eked out marginal gains on Thursday as Treasury yields fell after higher-than-expected jobless claims data underscored market expectations that interest rates have peaked.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped further to a two-month low on Friday and was last at 4.4082%. [US/]
Most megacap stocks edged higher in premarket trading, with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) up 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.
Pressuring futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares lost 7.2% on news that the semiconductor equipment maker was under investigation.
Futures for the small-cap Russell 2000 index climbed 1.4%, outperforming broader markets.
Wall Street’s three main indexes were poised to gain about 2% for the week, also on course for their third straight week of gains, as multiple data, including the consumer and producer prices index, pointed towards easing inflationary pressures.
“Currently, bad news is good news as the market focus is on central banks becoming more accommodative,” Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist at Jefferies, said in a note.
While money markets have fully priced in the Fed will hold rates steady at the current 5.25%-5.50% level in its December meeting, they also see a near 69% chance of at least a 25 basis point rate cut in May 2024, according to the CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool.
Investors will now await comments from Fed officials, including policy voting member Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, due later in the day for any cues on the monetary policy trajectory.
On the economic data front, markets will monitor the housing starts data for October, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.
At 7:06 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 93 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 10.75 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.5 points, or 0.04%.
Among major movers, Gap surged 19.1% before the bell as the apparel retailer posted better-than-expected third-quarter results due to improving sales at Old Navy and easing supply expenses.
ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) Holdings slumped 28.0% as the electric-vehicle charging network provider lowered estimates for its third-quarter revenue in its preliminary results and appointed Rick Wilmer as CEO.
Source: Economy - investing.com
