U.S. stock futures held near their record highs, marking a pause in muted premarket trading ahead of the highlight of the week’s economic data: the release of May retail sales figures.
S&P500 (^GSPC) futures oscillated around the flat line after the benchmark achieved its record 30th close in 2024. Futures linked to the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.2% as the tech-heavy index looked to build on a sixth consecutive record close. Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures (^DJI) are down 0.1%.
Technologies continue to lead an AI-driven rally that, as Myles Udland of Yahoo Finance writes, investors simply cannot afford to miss out. This enthusiasm pushes several Wall Street banks to continue their S&P aims for higher year-end targetswith a strategist saying that The AI revolution is still in its “early stages”.
That enthusiasm could be (perhaps briefly) put to the test – or at least put on the back burner – as consideration of the health of the American consumer takes center stage. Retail sales were stable in April, and investors will be looking to see if this slowdown continues. Economists expect an overall gain of 0.3% for May sales.
The focus will also be on a list of talkative Fed officials who could give more signals about where interest rates are moving. So far, the message after last week’s rate decision and forecast update has been clear: expect a rate cut in 2024. Investors don’t seem to have taken this to heart yet, with more than 60% still expecting two cuts by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch Tool.
