By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma
(Reuters) -Wall Street geared up for a subdued start on Friday, with investors weighing a week of mixed economic signals and earnings reports, while Netflix’s blockbuster profit failed to spark much excitement.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.07%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.05%, and Dow E-minis were up 52 points, or 0.12%.
Wall Street’s record-setting run pressed on overnight, as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq crawled to new highs thanks to upbeat retail sales and jobless claims, signaling a healthy U.S. economy and giving the Federal Reserve room to pause and watch for tariff-driven inflation.
Netflix rode the success of “Squid Game” to trounce earnings forecasts and hike its revenue outlook for the year, but its shares slipped 2.4% in premarket trading.
Industrial heavyweight 3M jumped 3.3% after raising its full-year profit outlook, crediting aggressive cost cuts and a sharper focus on high-margin products.
Meanwhile, American Express outpaced second-quarter profit estimates, buoyed by strong spending from its affluent cardholders. Its shares rose 1.1%.
However, the S&P 500 and the Dow were on track to eke out only modest gains this week, as investors navigated a maze of mixed signals – robust retail sales, a spike in consumer inflation, and stagnant producer prices for June.
With the August 1 tariff deadline looming, uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade policy lingered in the background, even as corporate earnings and economic data took center stage.
Adding to the jitters, reports of a possible ouster of Fed Chair Jerome Powell briefly rattled markets, though Trump was quick to shoot down those reports.
“It’s a bit of everything. Mixed economic data, tariffs, Trump criticizing Powell creating a bit of confusion and therefore a lack of direction in markets,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Against this backdrop, traders now see a 57.9% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, while a July move is all but off the table, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, investors were also eyeing the preliminary reading for July consumer sentiment data later in the day.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled on Thursday that mounting economic risks and tame inflation have him backing an interest rate cut by this month’s end, downplaying concerns that tariffs will fuel lasting price hikes.
As the second-quarter earnings season gets underway, early results from 36 S&P 500 companies that reported, more than 80% have topped Wall Street’s earnings expectations, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.
By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma
(Reuters) -Wall Street geared up for a subdued start on Friday, with investors weighing a week of mixed economic signals and earnings reports, while Netflix’s blockbuster profit failed to spark much excitement.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 4.5 points, or 0.07%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.05%, and Dow E-minis were up 52 points, or 0.12%.
Wall Street’s record-setting run pressed on overnight, as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq crawled to new highs thanks to upbeat retail sales and jobless claims, signaling a healthy U.S. economy and giving the Federal Reserve room to pause and watch for tariff-driven inflation.
Netflix rode the success of “Squid Game” to trounce earnings forecasts and hike its revenue outlook for the year, but its shares slipped 2.4% in premarket trading.
Industrial heavyweight 3M jumped 3.3% after raising its full-year profit outlook, crediting aggressive cost cuts and a sharper focus on high-margin products.
Meanwhile, American Express outpaced second-quarter profit estimates, buoyed by strong spending from its affluent cardholders. Its shares rose 1.1%.
However, the S&P 500 and the Dow were on track to eke out only modest gains this week, as investors navigated a maze of mixed signals – robust retail sales, a spike in consumer inflation, and stagnant producer prices for June.
With the August 1 tariff deadline looming, uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade policy lingered in the background, even as corporate earnings and economic data took center stage.
Adding to the jitters, reports of a possible ouster of Fed Chair Jerome Powell briefly rattled markets, though Trump was quick to shoot down those reports.
“It’s a bit of everything. Mixed economic data, tariffs, Trump criticizing Powell creating a bit of confusion and therefore a lack of direction in markets,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Against this backdrop, traders now see a 57.9% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, while a July move is all but off the table, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, investors were also eyeing the preliminary reading for July consumer sentiment data later in the day.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled on Thursday that mounting economic risks and tame inflation have him backing an interest rate cut by this month’s end, downplaying concerns that tariffs will fuel lasting price hikes.
As the second-quarter earnings season gets underway, early results from 36 S&P 500 companies that reported, more than 80% have topped Wall Street’s earnings expectations, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.
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