U.S. stock futures were steady on Friday morning as investors awaited the release of August’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index report. This key inflation metric is closely watched by the Federal Reserve and could provide clues about the central bank’s monetary policy decision. Futures on the S&P 500 (SPX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) were down by about 0.13%, 0.04%, and 0.39%, respectively, at 2:46 a.m. EST, September 27.
In yesterday’s regular trading session, the S&P 500 reached a new all-time high for the third consecutive day, up 0.4%. Further, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite indices posted gains of 0.62% and 0.6%, respectively.
Several factors contributed to the positive market sentiment on Thursday. A strong earnings report from Micron Technology (MU) boosted semiconductor and tech stocks.
Additionally, robust economic data, such as the decline in weekly jobless claims to a four-month low, signaled the resilience of the labor market. Moreover, the final reading of second-quarter GDP growth came in at 3%, which eased concerns about a broader economic slowdown.
All eyes are now on today’s release of the PCE price index. Economists anticipate a 2.3% annualized increase and a 0.1% month-over-month rise. A cooling trend in inflation could further solidify market optimism and potentially influence the Fed’s future monetary policy decisions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down, floating near 3.787% at the time of writing. However, the WTI crude oil futures are trending higher, hovering near $67.88 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets opened higher on Friday, extending the previous day’s rally. China’s additional economic stimulus measures, anticipation of a key U.S. inflation report, and a decline in France’s inflation rate helped lift investor sentiment.
Asia Pacific Market Traded Higher on Friday
Asia-Pacific markets continued to inch higher on Friday, fueled by the Chinese central bank’s recent stimulus measures, such as lowering the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points. China stocks are poised for their largest weekly gain in nearly 16 years, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is set for its best week since 1998.
Additionally, investors are keeping a close eye on inflation data from Japan as well as the upcoming election of a new Prime Minister.
At the time of writing, the Hang Seng index was up 2.89%. Also, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices gained 2.45% and 5.3%, respectively. Moreover, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices moved higher by 1.65% and 0.48%, respectively.
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