After tech losses, US stock futures were quiet, and Wall Street was hurt by rate uncertainty

U.S. stock index futures steadied on Wednesday evening, following a negative trading session on Wall Street. Weak corporate earnings and rising regulatory concerns weighed on technology stocks, while robust economic data added uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.

Investor sentiment was particularly affected by the release of a key inflation metric favored by the Federal Reserve, which underscored persistent price pressures. Trading activity was subdued and is expected to decline further during the Thanksgiving holiday period.

By 18:17 ET (23:17 GMT), S&P 500 Futures edged higher to 6,017.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures remained flat at 20,819.50 points. Dow Jones Futures saw a marginal increase of less than 0.1% to 44,852.0 points.

Tech Stocks Slide Amid Earnings Misses and Antitrust Woes
Technology shares led Wall Street losses on Wednesday as disappointing earnings raised doubts about artificial intelligence's contribution to sector-wide growth.

PC manufacturers Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) saw sharp declines after delivering lackluster earnings and guidance, with AI offering only modest revenue contributions. The poor performance spilled over into other AI-exposed stocks, including NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which dipped 1.2%.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also struggled, falling 1.2% amid reports from Bloomberg that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission had initiated a broad antitrust investigation into the company. The stock declined further in after-hours trading.

The regulatory scrutiny comes on the heels of U.S. authorities recommending that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) divest assets, including Google Chrome, over alleged antitrust violations. Concerns over increasing regulatory pressure on major tech firms added to market jitters, although policy implications remain uncertain, especially with the potential return of a Trump presidency.

Economic Strength Fuels Rate Uncertainty
Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday after a series of strong economic indicators dampened expectations for near-term interest rate cuts. However, losses were relatively mild, with indexes hovering near record highs as investors shifted focus to economically sensitive sectors.

The S&P 500 declined 0.4% to 5,988.74 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6% to 19,061.78 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 44,722.06 points.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, rose in line with expectations in October, suggesting inflation remains well above the central bank’s 2% target.

Weekly jobless claims came in slightly below forecasts, and third-quarter GDP growth was revised upward, indicating continued economic resilience.

These signs of strength are likely to give the Federal Reserve more time to implement gradual rate cuts. Minutes from the Fed’s November meeting revealed policymakers favor a cautious approach to easing monetary policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.