The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a nervous start on Wall Street as investors look ahead to a slew of Fed speeches scheduled for the remainder of the week.
U.S. stocks closed Tuesday’s session moderately lower after the results of the Institute for Supply Management’s service sector survey showed the business activity index rose for a second straight month in August, rising to the highest level since December 2021.
The strong data spooked the market, which has remained jittery about a potentially aggressive Fed rates trajectory.
Technology and energy stocks led the declines, while retail estate stocks showed notable strength. Hedge fund manager Louis Navellier attributed the downward pressure on tech names to their relatively more vulnerability to potential earnings estimate cuts on top of P/E compression.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.74% | 11,544.91 | |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.41% | 3,908.19 | |
| Dow Industrials | -0.55% | 31,145.30 |
The major averages continued to stay at their lowest level since July 18.
“We’re overdue for a bounce after so many days in a row in the red. The market is trading as if a recession is nearly assured but with unemployment so low and job listings so high, it would be unprecedented to see demand collapse quickly,” Navellier said.
Here’s a peek into index futures trading:
| Index | Performance (+/-) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nasdaq 100 Futures | +0.24% | |
| S&P 500 Futures | +0.21% | |
| Dow Futures | +0.19% | |
| R2K Futures | -0.38% |
In premarket trading on Wednesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was rising 0.14% to $391.32 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was moving up 0.18% to $293.59, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Fed speakers dominate Main Street events scheduled for the day.
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