Stock futures moved up in the early hours of Friday even as investors struggled to find at least one reason to rejoice, amid disappointing news from all around. The movements were possibly a result of investors betting on the hope that the market pessimism has hit the rock bottom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures were up by 0.79% as of 3.41 a.m. EST, Thursday. Meanwhile, futures on the S&P 500 (SPX) grew 1.11%, whereas those on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) edged 1.81% higher.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Dow recovered some of their intraday losses and finished 0.13% and 0.33% lower, respectively. This marked the sixth consecutive trading session ending in red for the Dow.
Meanwhile, having fallen more than 18% from its recent all-time high, the S&P 500 is only about a 2% decline away from entering the official bear market territory.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.18% at the end of the regular trading Thursday. The tech-heavy index, along with the broader Nasdaq Composite, is already in bear territory. The tech sector has borne the maximum brunt of market pessimism.
On the other hand, inflation has gone so out of hand that March’s interest rate hike did not succeed much in curbing it. April’s consumer price index showed 8.3% year-over-year inflation in prices, which was just about 20 basis points lower than the 40-year high inflation of 8.5% recorded in March.
On Thursday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at the possibility of more aggressive hikes to contain the raging inflation and said that he does not guarantee a “soft landing” that could curb inflation as well as avoid a recession.
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