Stock market news today: US stocks set for rebound after key Fed-watched inflation data
07/26/2024 20:12
Investors are looking to the Fed-favored inflation data to calibrate the timing and depth of rate cuts.
US stocks rose before the bell on Friday, poised for another comeback bid as investors waited for crucial inflation data that will test high expectations for interest-rate cuts.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) added 0.6%, or about 200 points, after the blue-chip index eked out a closing gain. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose about 0.8%, while Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) climbed 1.1%, both coming off a failed attempt to rebound from this week's tech-led sell-off.
Stocks are looking positive after a volatile series of sessions that have put the major gauges on track for hefty weekly losses. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) have taken a bruising as Big Tech earnings undermined confidence in the AI trade, spurring the ongoing exodus from megacaps into small cap stocks.
That pause in this year's rally has Wall Street questioning whether the sell-off is a turning point to sustained lower prices or a typical bull-market pullback. In play are earnings-fueled concerns about softness in the US economy, though Thursday's surprisingly hot GDP print eased those somewhat.
Friday's big data point was the closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which provided more fuel to the notion of a still-strong economy and gradually cooling inflation. "Core" PCE, which strips out the cost of food and energy and is closely watched by the Fed, came in slightly higher than expectations but rose at its slowest pace in over three years.
Read more: 32 charts that tell the story of markets and the economy right now
Investors are also getting set for quarterly earnings next week from four more "Magnificent Seven" techs — Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META).
Live1 update
Fed's preferred inflation gauge steadies ahead of expected cuts
The latest reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge showed prices increased slightly more than expected in June.
The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out the cost of food and energy and is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose 2.6% over the prior year in June; above economists' estimate of a 2.5% increase and unchanged from the month prior. Still, the print marked the slowest annual increase for core PCE in more than three years.
Core PCE rose 0.2 % from the prior month, in line with Wall Street's expectations for 0.2% and faster than the 0.1% increase seen in May.