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U.S. stock index futures were little changed Friday following the release of a raft of data, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, which showed the pace of inflation slowed in November for the fifth straight month.
What’s happening
-
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
-0.51%
were flat at 33,214. -
Futures on the S&P 500
ES00,
-0.55%
fell 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 3,846. -
Futures on the Nasdaq 100
NQ00,
-0.91%
declined 10 points, or 0.1%, to 11,044.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
fell 349 points, or 1.1%, to 33,027, the S&P 500
SPX,
declined 56 points, or 1.5%, to 3,822, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
dropped 233 points, or 2.2%, to 10,476.
What’s driving markets
U.S. stock index futures fluctuated between gains and losses after the release of a raft of economic data including the November PCE report, the Fed’s preferred barometer of inflation.
U.S. consumer prices increased by just 0.1% last month, less than the 0.2% increase expected by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal. Over the 12 months through November, the yearly rate of inflation slowed to 5.5%, from 6.1% in the prior month.
See: High U.S. inflation is on the wane, PCE price gauge shows
See also: Consumer spending barely rose at start of holiday shopping season
Other economic data were released, including durable-goods orders for November, which sank 2.1%.
While investors were likely pleased to see inflation continue to slow, none of the economic data released this week would justify the Federal Reserve pivoting away from its planned interest-rate hikes, said Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment Management.
“The PCE certainly came down a little bit, but it’s nowhere near where the Fed would like it to be,” Nolte said.
Later in the morning, the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading and new-home sales data will be released at 10 a.m.
