Traders on the floor of the NYSE, April 14, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures oscillated near the flatline Friday as investors looked to keep this month’s gains going.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked higher by 21 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.09%.
In after-hours action, Gap shares leapt 15% as the company posted better-than-expected results in the third quarter. Electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint slid 29% after announcing a shake-up in its C-suite and cutting its forecast for third-quarter revenue.
During regular trading, the 30-stock Dow ended the session lower by 0.13%, snapping a four-session run of gains. The S&P 500 added 0.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.07% higher.
All three averages are on pace for weekly gains — and that would mark their third straight positive week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are up more than 2% through Thursday’s close, while the Dow is on pace for a 1.9% rise.
Soft readings for October’s consumer price index and the producer price index carried stocks during the week. CPI was flat from the previous month, while wholesale prices dropped 0.5% for their largest monthly decline since April 2020.
The results lifted investors’ hopes that the worst of inflation — as well as the Federal Reserve’s tough stance on rate policy — may be in the rearview mirror.
“It’s hard sometimes in the moment to recognize when something has significantly changed, [but] I think there was a tremor on Tuesday, and things have changed,” EMJ Capital founder and president Eric Jackson said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “The Fed has done a Punxsutawney Powell, and gone back into hibernation for I think the next six years.”
The question is whether traders will be able to maintain that optimism for the remainder of the month. In November, the S&P 500 is up 7.5%, while the Dow has a 5.7% gain. The Nasdaq has leapt 9.8%.
Later in the day, investors will be eyeing housing starts and building permits data for October.
