U.S. stock futures pointed to a strong bounce for Wall Street on Friday, with sentiment getting a lift from a cut one of China’s key lending rates. But investors are still facing yet another weekly loss.
How are stock-index futures trading?
-
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
climbed 41.5 points, or 1%, to 3,939.25 -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
jumped 294 points, or 0.9%, to 31,495 -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
climbed 199 points, or 1.6%, to 12,075
On Thursday, the Dow industrials and S&P 500 booked their lowest closes since March 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Dow
DJIA,
fell 236.94 points, or 0.8%, ending at 31,253.13, after a 300 point gain at one point. The S&P 500
SPX,
fell 0.6% to 3,900.79, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
slipped 0.3% to 11,388.50.
Wednesday’s dramatic selloff marked the worst day for the Dow and S&P 500 since June 2020.
What’s driving markets?
Wall Street futures took their cue from a strong Asian session, where the Hong Kong Hang Seng
HSI,
rallied 3.2% and the China CSI 300 index
000300,
gained 1.9%.
The People’s Bank of China on Friday cut in its rate on five-year loans, aimed at shoring up weak housing sales by cutting mortgage costs. The country has been battling COVID outbreaks, with lockdowns in industrial hubs such as Shanghai blamed for weak factory and consumer activity data in April.
The S&P finished a step closer to bear-market territory on Thursday as the Russia-Ukraine war, a China slowdown, high inflation and rising interest rates have sparked concerns over corporate profits and economic growth.
Read: Selloff puts S&P 500 on bear market’s doorstep. If history is a guide, there’s more pain ahead.
Down 3% or more each, major indexes are likely facing yet another week of losses. The Dow industrials is set for its eighth-straight loss, which mark its longest streak in history, according to FactSet.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are poised for their worst losing streaks since June 2011 and November, 2012, respectively. Losses have come amid concerns about whether soaring inflation can be brought under control by the Federal Reserve without derailing the economy.
Major retailers this week, such as Walmart
WMT,
and Target
TGT,
reported disappointing profits, against a backdrop of rising expenses and inflation.
Read: Swiss running shoe company On Holding runs with premium pricing despite inflation
The U.S. data calendar is empty for Friday, but next week will bring another round of inflation data, personal consumption expenditure prices excluding food and energy.
Read More:U.S. stock futures climb after China rate cut, as Dow in danger of worst weekly losing streak in history
2022-05-20 08:47:00