U.S. stock index futures fell Wednesday, retreating after the tech-heavy Nasdaq index climbed to new highs, with focus remaining on upcoming inflation data and more cues on interest rates.
At 06:05 ET (10:05 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 215 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 Futures fell 30 points, or 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 110 points, or 0.6%.
The NASDAQ Composite closed 0.6% higher at a record high on Tuesday, boosted by strong gains by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the third largest stock on Wall Street by market capitalization. The S&P 500 closed marginally higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is more economically sensitive than its peers, fell 0.6%.
Rate jitters mount amid hawkish Fedspeak, PCE watch Broader U.S. stocks were largely subdued in anticipation of key inflation data this week. PCE price index data, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due this Friday, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on interest rates.
Signs of sticky inflation have led several officials to suggest in recent days that they would like to see more evidence of cooling prices before starting to bring rates down from more than two-decade highs.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari warned on Tuesday that the Fed had still not ruled out rate hikes.
More Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester are set to speak before Friday’s reading.
The Fed’s Beige Book report is due later Wednesday, while a revised reading on first-quarter economic growth is also due on Thursday.
The quarterly corporate earnings season is gradually drawing to a close, but Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is still due to report its fiscal first quarter earnings after the bell, with Wall Street likely on the lookout for updates on the business software group's Data Cloud division.
Elsewhere, American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) sank almost 8% premarket after it cut its second-quarter earnings forecast after the close Tuesday on a more subdued outlook on travel demand.
This pulled down broader airline stocks, with Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) all lower.
On the other hand, trading platform Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) rose 3% after it unveiled a stock buyback of $1 billion.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) stock fell 0.7% premarket after the Financial Times reported that the energy company is in advanced talks to buy Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), up 6%, in an all-stock deal that could value the Houston-based company at a little over its $15 billion market value.
Crude gains ahead of US inventory data Crude prices rose Wednesday, adding to recent gains on hopes that demand will pick up with the onset of the travel-heavy U.S. summer season.
By 06:05 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.9% higher at $80.56 per barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.9% to $84.66 per barrel.
Both benchmarks gained over 1% on Tuesday.
The Memorial Day holiday on Monday signaled the start of the peak demand season in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, helping sentiment in the market.
Upcoming inventory data is expected to further the notion of growing demand, with analysts predicting a 2 million barrel draw in overall inventories.
Additionally, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, is set to take place online over the weekend, and the cartel is expected to extend its current voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second half of the year.
