Stock futures were trending below parity in the early morning hours of Friday as investors try hard to digest the Fed’s decision of a 50 basis point interest rate hike.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.30%, as of 3.54 a.m. EST, on Friday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (SPX) futures fell 0.36% and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures edged 0.42% lower.
At the end of the regular trading hours on Thursday, the Dow dipped 3.12%, recording the worst day since 2020. The S&P 500 retreated 3.56%, while the Nasdaq 100 declined 5%. The indexes more than offset Wednesday’s relief rally.
Market participants had the time to slowly digest the interest rate hike and the implications of the pending hikes this year. Needless to say, the technology sector experienced the maximum impact, with sharp declines in valuations of major cloud companies, e-commerce players, and mega-cap giants. This explains the dip in the Nasdaq 100 index and the S&P 500.
Nonetheless, looking at the entire week’s performance, the S&P 500 is on track to end the week in the green. Meanwhile, the Dow is also expected to end the week marginally higher.
Market watchers are also looking forward to Friday’s release of the April jobs report. Dow Jones survey found that most economists are anticipating a 0.1% sequential fall in April’s unemployment rate to 3.5%.
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