Stock futures slipped on Thursday evening as Wall Street looked to grind a rare positive week in the first half of the year to a grinding halt.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64 points, or 0.2%. Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down about 0.2%.
The moves in futures come as the stock market seems to have found some stability this week, at least in the short term. after a Thursday afternoon rallyThe S&P 500 is up 3.3% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 4% and the Dow is up 2.6%.
All three are looking to break the average three-week losing streak.
Economic data will be a major focus on Friday, as investors try to determine whether the US economy is falling into recession. New home sales data is due at 10 a.m. ET and final reports on Michigan consumer sentiment for June will come later in the day.
“Bearish talk continues to be the focus on Wall Street and means that any rally in the stock market will likely be short-lived,” Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note. “Wall Street will have no answer to the questions of when inflation will peak, how soon will we see a recession, and how high will the Fed raise rates?”
Reading consumer sentiment can be especially important for investors, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said. A surprising drop in initial reading This was one of the reasons the central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point earlier this month.
On the corporate front, FedEx shares moved higher in extended trading, despite a mixed fourth-quarter report after the logistics company gave an upbeat earnings forecast. Carnival Cruise Line is scheduled to release the updated business on Friday morning.