US stocks headed for more losses on Thursday as lingering concerns about higher-for-longer interest rates and a Salesforce (CRM) sell-off put a damper on investors’ spirits.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) sank 0.9%, after shedding over 400 points to lead Wednesday’s stock market slide. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell 0.4%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were down roughly 0.3%.
Stocks have lost steam amid renewed gloom about the odds for rate cuts, stoked by data showing less cooling in inflation than the Federal Reserve wants. At the same time, hopes that Nvidia’s (NVDA) blockbuster earnings would spur a broader stock rally were disappointed.
That rates angst drove US bond yields this week to their highest levels since early May, lifting the 10-year Treasury (^TNX) back above 4.5%. Though the benchmark yield retreated on Thursday, it still held above the key level trading around 4.6%.
Salesforce’s results sparked other worries about likely losers in the AI boom. The software maker’s shares slid 15% in pre-market after it said sales growth will stall to the slowest in its history.
Focus is now on Thursday’s data releases, with investors on watch for more signs of the surprising resilience in the US economy hampering the case for the Fed to lower borrowing costs. A second reading on first quarter GDP and weekly jobless claims are on deck.
Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?
A wave of retail earnings before the bell gave other clues to consumer resilience and economic health. Kohl’s (KSS) shares cratered after the department store chain’s surprise quarterly loss and cut to its annual sales forecast. Meanwhile, Best Buy (BBY) posted a bigger drop in comparable sales than expected as Americans get choosy about spending on non-essentials.
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From: Yahoo.com
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