U.S. Stock Futures Point to Fourth Day of Losses - WSJ
By: Caitlin Ostroff (WSJ)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
U.S. stock futures ticked lower Thursday ahead of jobless claims data that will provide fresh cues about the pace of recovery in the labor market.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.4%, suggesting that the two major indexes could see a fourth consecutive day of declines after the New York opening bell. Futures on the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 slid 0.3%.
Stocks and other risky assets have been under pressure this week following concerns that rising inflation and a speedy economic recovery could prompt central bankers to pare back easy-money policies. Federal Reserve minutes showed that policy makers in an April meeting signaled their desire to start discussing a plan for reducing the Fed's massive bond-buying program at a future meeting. That briefly jolted stocks Wednesday afternoon as it eroded investors' risk appetite.
"The market is just very, very jumpy about inflation and the Fed," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Advisors. "It is a lot of knee-jerk reactions and then the market settles down a bit."
Markets are likely to be volatile until additional economic data provides a clearer picture, Ms. Shah said. "I don't think we could know anything really about which way inflation is going to go until September, but the market is unable to wait that long," she added.
Figures showing how many Americans applied for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ended May 15 are due at 8:30 a.m. ET. In the prior week, jobless claims fell to new pandemic lows .
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes ticked down to 1.666%, from 1.680% Wednesday. Yields fall when bond prices rise.
Bitcoin rose 4% to $39,955.50 following a frenzied selloff on Wednesday that saw cryptocurrencies plunge . Ether rose more than 5% from its 5 p.m. ET level to $2,675.72, and dogecoin gained 12% to trade near 39 U.S. cents.
“We’re just seeing a bit of a natural dead cat bounce because a lot of the hot air seems to be pulled out now,” said Charles Hepworth, an investment director at GAM Investments.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.4%.
The major Asian indexes closed on a mixed note. China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged about 0.1% lower, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.2%.
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