Global Courant
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City on June 14, 2023.
Spencer Plat | Getty Images
Equity futures were trading lower early Tuesday as investors anticipated a shorter trading week.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152 points, or 0.44%, while S&P 500 futures pulled back 0.29%. Nasdaq 100 futures decreased by 0.29%.
Markets were closed for the regular trading session on Monday due to the Juneteenth holiday.
Investors are coming off a strong week, even though major averages were down on Friday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite posted their best weekly performance since March, with the broad market benchmark up 2.6% and the tech-heavy index up 3.25%. It also marked the S&P 500’s fifth consecutive positive week — a first since November 2021 — and the Nasdaq’s eighth consecutive positive week, a feat it achieved earlier in 2019.
Investors were seemingly receptive to the central bank’s decision last week to skip a rate hike in June. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a news conference Wednesday that the central bank has yet to make a policy decision ahead of the July meeting. However, policymakers predict two more quarter-point rate hikes later this year. The decision to skip a rate hike in June broke the Fed’s streak of 10 consecutive rate hikes.
Despite Powell’s insistence that future Fed policy will remain data-dependent, stocks are on the upswing. Investors are trying to gauge how last week’s strong market sentiment will hold up in a shortened trading week that is light on economic data. The data about the start of the housing will be released on Tuesday morning.
New York Fed President John Williams will appear with Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr on a corporate governance event Tuesday in New York City. Fed Chairman Powell will testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
As for earnings, investors will be looking forward to a quarterly report from the shipping giant FedEx on Tuesday after the closing bell.
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