ZUO - Nasdaq S&P 500 Futures Rally As Market Looks Set To Finish A Strong November On Upbeat Note | Benzinga
Stocks appear on track to open Thursday’s session on a firm note. However, the trading direction will likely hinge on the personal consumption expenditure index, which is deemed the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. With the OPEC+ set to announce its decision on oil output, oil and energy stocks could be in the spotlight. Earnings news, especially from the tech sector, has mostly been positive.
Data reinforcing the market’s timeline for a fed rate cut could help the stocks rally in the final session of a strong November. This should bode well as the market enters a seasonally stronger month when it typically benefits from the Santa Claus rally.
Cues From Wednesday’s Trading:
U.S. stocks meandered to a narrowly mixed close on Wednesday as the mood turned cautious following a report showing that GDP rose more than estimated in the third quarter. A Fed official also ignited worries about the rate outlook. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester reupped Fed’s data-dependent stance, which was a rude shock to traders beginning to price in rate cuts in 2024.
The major averages opened higher but declined steadily until late-morning trading. The Dow Industrials recovered and moved into positive territory only to retrace much of its gain in late trading and ended marginally higher. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indices consolidated below the unchanged line in the mid-session before falling further in late trading. The latter two averages ended modestly lower.
Small-caps outperformed on Wednesday, with the Russell 2,000 Index closing firmly in the green.
Among the S&P sector classes, communications services, consumer staples, energy, and utility stocks served as drags. On the other hand, real estate and financial stocks gained ground.
Index Performance (+/-) Value
Nasdaq Composite -0.16% 14,258.49
S&P 500 -0.09% 4,550.58
Dow +0.04% 35,430.4
Russell 2000 +0.61% 1,803.81
Analyst Color:
Comerica Chief Economist Bill Adams suggested in a recent note that the path may be clear for the Fed to cut rates in 2024. The analysts see the central bank taking down the fed funds rate by ...