Trader on the New York Stock Exchange, June 2, 2021.
Source: NYSE
US stock futures remained flat early Friday morning after the S&P 500 hit a new high during regular trading despite unexpectedly hot inflation data.
Futures pegged to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 47 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were largely unchanged.
There weren’t many great movers and shakers in pre-trading. Some of the meme stocks rebounded after a tough Thursday day. AMC shares rose 3% and GameStop rose 7% in the premarket. These two suffered double-digit percentage losses on Thursday as the momentum on Reddit favorites eased.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19 points, or 0.06%, to 34,466.24. The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.47% at 4,239.18, hit a new intraday high, and hit a record close. The benchmark had traded sideways for about a month since its last record on May 7th. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 0.78% at 14,020.33.
The gains even came when a report showed inflation rose the fastest since 2008 as the economy recovered from the pandemic-induced recession. The consumer price index represents a basket that includes food, energy, groceries and prices for a range of goods, and rose 5% in May from a year earlier.
The markets shrugged at the news, however.
“A significant portion of this inflation could prove temporary, as nearly half of the above-average rise in inflation is due to the base effects of last year’s economic slowdown and even supply constraints should be temporary as companies increase productivity and catch up,” “Jason Pride , CIO for personal wealth at Glenmede.
Regardless, initial jobless claims for the week ending June 5 were 376,000 – the lowest number in the Covid pandemic – according to a separate report released Thursday.
For the week, the main benchmarks are mixed. The Dow is down 0.8%, but the S&P 500 is up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 1.5%.
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