US stock futures edge lower; Nike outlook, inflation data in spotlight
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures edged lower Friday, weighed by a weak outlook from sports retail giant Nike and with investors cautious ahead of key inflation data.
By 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 100 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 5 points, or 0.1%, lower and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 20 points, or 0.1%.
The main Wall Street indices closed higher Thursday, bouncing back after the losses of the previous session. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 300 points, or 0.9%, while the broad-based S&P 500 index rose 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3%.
These averages are on course for their eighth positive week in a row — a first for the S&P 500 since 2017 and for the DJIA dating back to 2019.
The year-end rally is likely to take a pause early Friday as investors digest the release of the personal consumption expenditures report, the Fed’s primary inflation gauge, for November.
Economists are expecting the PCE price index to remain flat for a second month in November, while the core measure that strips out volatile food and energy costs is seen rising 0.2%.
A more dovish tone from the Federal Reserve at its last meeting has been behind the majority of the recent gains, with investors pricing in around 150 basis points of interest rate cuts next year.
Any signs of sticky inflation are likely to dent these rate cut expectations, but Thursday's downward revision to the PCE in third-quarter growth data bodes well for a downside surprise.
Also weighing is the decision by Nike (NYSE:NKE) to cut its annual sales forecast, warning of a softer second-half revenue outlook on cautious consumer spending.
Nike stock fell over 11% premarket, with the sportswear giant
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