Futures lower, Powell testimony, NYCB's cash infusion - what's moving markets
Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures point to a negative start on Wall Street, as markets prepared for more testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Retailers Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and Kroger (NYSE:KR) are due to report their latest earnings, while shares in midsized lender NYCB end a rollercoaster trading session higher following a $1 billion cash infusion from a group of investors.
1. Futures edge lower
U.S. stock futures inched lower on Thursday, as investors awaited a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and geared up for the release of key labor market data later in the week.
By 03:26 ET (08:26 GMT), the S&P 500 futures contract had shed 18 points or 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures had lost 99 points or 0.5%, and Dow futures dipped by 117 points or 0.3%.
The main averages on Wall Street closed higher in the prior session after Powell told a House committee that he expects the Fed will eventually slash interest rate down from more than two-decade highs this year. However, he flagged that policymakers wanted to see further evidence that inflation was sustainably easing toward the central bank's stated 2% target before rolling out any cuts. Powell is scheduled to testify to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs today.
Although Powell's comments fueled optimism that the Fed will eventually cut rates this year, the enthusiasm was tempered after Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said that he did not expect more than two reductions in 2024.
Analysts at ING argued in a note to clients that signs of a cooling jobs market, sluggish household income growth, the exhaustion of pandemic-era savings and elevated rates «will result in weak consumer spending.»
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