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U.S. equity futures edged lower in early Wednesday trading, while the dollar slumped and Treasury bonds rallied, as investors looked to a key set of growth and inflation data heading into the final full trading day of the Thanksgiving holiday week.
Updated at 8:39 AM EST
Data appetizer
Weekly jobless claims slipped to the lowest level since April over the period ending on November 23, with 213,000 Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits.
The Commerce Department's second estimate of third quarter GDP, meanwhile, matched its initial estimate of a 2.8% advance.
Stocks and Treasury bond yields were little-changed in the wake of the data release, and ahead of the PCE inflation data at 10:00 am Eastern, with the S&P 500 called 5 points lower and benchmark 10-year Treasury notes holding at 4.256%.
Continued strong-to-quite-strong US data across the board this morning:
— Matt Weller CFA, CMT (@MWellerFX) November 27, 2024
🔷US INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS ACTUAL 213K (FORECAST 215K, PREVIOUS 213K)
🔷US GDP QOQ 2ND ESTIMATE ACTUAL 2.8% (FORECAST 2.8%, PREVIOUS 2.8%)
🔷US PRELIM OCT. DURABLE GOODS ORDERS RISE 0.2% M/M; EST. +0.5% pic.twitter.com/DKNfsSjNLb
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended at fresh record highs Tuesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.57% on the session to extend its year-to-date advance past 25.5%. The market move followed solid consumer confidence data and news of a Biden-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that could stabilize a region devastated by two years of conflict.
Bond markets, which have been active for most of the week amid a slate of new Treasury auctions and a host of nominees to President-elect Donald Trump's economic team, extended their rally overnight following a cautious set of minutes from the Federal Reserve's November policy meeting.
Traders are still betting on a quarter-point interest rate cut next month, when the Fed meets for the final time this year in Washington but have pared bets on further reductions into 2025 as officials said that "monetary policy decisions were not on a preset course and were conditional on the evolution of the economy and the implications for the economic outlook."
Benchmark 10-year note yields were marked 4 basis points lower overnight at 4.263% while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.219%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.54% lower at 106.439.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish the October reading of the Fed's favored inflation gauge, the PCE price index, at 10:00 am Eastern Time, with weekly jobless-claims figures and a second estimate of third-quarter GDP from the Commerce Department at 8:30 am Eastern time.
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which closed at a record 6,021.63 points last night, are priced for a modest 9-point opening-bell decline.
Related: Goldman Sachs analyst sees starting point for year-end S&P 500 rally
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are indicating a 35-point slip while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq are called 55 points lower at the start of trading.
Dell Technologies (DELL) shares were a notable premarket mover, falling 12% to $125.10 after the computer maker reported weaker-than-expected fiscal-third-quarter earnings and a muted holiday forecast.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Walmart analysts reset stock price targets ahead of Black Friday
- Analysts revamp Cisco stock price targets after earnings
- Analysts revisit Applied Materials stock price targets after Q4 earnings
Stocks in overseas trading were broadly lower, with investors reacting to Trump's newest cabinet pick, Jamieson Greer, as U.S. trade representative. Greer, who worked closely with Trump on tariff decisions during his first term, is seen as hawkish on trade issues with the largest U.S. partners.
Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.3% lower in midday Frankfurt trading, with the FTSE 100 edging 0.13% higher in London.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% as the yen rose to a three-week high against the weaker U.S. dollar, while the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 0.53% into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
