Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading on February 1, 2023 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
US stock futures were little changed on Sunday night after the major averages posted their biggest weekly losses of the year and ahead of another big week in retail earnings.
Futures related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell below the flat line.
The major averages ended Friday lower and posted their biggest weekly decline of 2023. The Dow finished down 3%, its fourth consecutive week. The S&P 500 lost 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% for the week.
Stocks sank on Friday and Treasury yields jumped after a larger-than-expected increase in the latest reading of personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure.
The early rally in 2023 appeared to be fading as investors digested the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which underscored the central bank’s hawkish stance on inflation, as well as recent comments from Fed officials warning that interest rates would be higher for longer than expected.
“As we head into a period of seasonal weakness, with bets mounting that the Fed could hike by 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points in March, although still a minority opinion, short-term market risks remain to the downside though. Three weeks in a row the bears are dusting themselves off after being fired in January, said Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of growth investment firm Navellier & Associates.
Next week, investors will be looking for clues about how inflation will affect consumers and businesses amid a handful of economic data and corporate earnings reports. Durable Goods Orders are due Monday morning. Consumer Confidence and the ISM Manufacturing Survey are also on deck next week.
In terms of earnings, only 6% of the S&P 500 will report, but investors are looking for consumer insight with several major retailers, restaurants, some travel and leisure names as well as food companies due to report. Target, Costco, Lowe’s, and Macy’s are some of the big names set to report earnings this week.
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