Stock futures are slightly lower Friday morning as investors await the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation and a report on consumer sentiment.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each down 0.1% in recent trading, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.2%. Stocks closed lower the past two sessions on fresh concerns about tariffs as President Trump announced levies on all imports of cars and auto parts. Nonetheless, the major indexes come into Friday’s session in positive territory for the week and are in position to post gains for the second straight week, as the market slowly rebounds from a month-long selloff.
Market participants are focused this morning on inflation data that’s due to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, which the Fed will be watching closely as it considers its next moves on interest rates, is expected to show that annual inflation held steady at 2.5% in February. Consumer sentiment data is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Investors are keeping close tabs on all economic data points as they seek confirmation that the U.S. economy remains on sound footing, amid concerns that tariffs could reignite inflation and cause economic growth to stall.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which tends to fall when concerns about the economy rise, was at 4.32% this morning, down from 4.37% at yesterday’s close. The yield, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, hit its highest level in a month on Thursday.
Mega-cap technology stocks were mixed in premarket trading. EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which is seen as less affected by the import tariffs than other automakers, was up 1%, while Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META) also gained ground. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG) and Broadcom (AVGO) were slightly lower.
Among other noteworthy tech sector movers, shares of AppLovin (APP) surged 9% after losing one-fifth of their value yesterday when Muddy Waters became the latest short-seller to issue a report alleging inappropriate business practices by the advertising technology company.
Shares of Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy and one of the world’s largest holders of bitcoin, were down 3% this morning as the digital currency lost ground. Bitcoin was at $85,100, down from an overnight high of $87,700.
Gold futures were up 0.7% at $3,080 an ounce, trading at record-high levels, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, held steady at $69.95 per barrel.