Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 8, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures were little changed Monday after the S&P 500 registered its best week of 2024.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 16 points, trading near flat. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures both ticked higher by just around 0.1%.
Stocks are coming off a winning week amid a volatile stretch for equities. The broad S&P 500 rallied 3.9% for its best week since 2023. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow added 5.2% and 2.9%, respectively.
August had gotten off to a turbulent start after disappointing data fueled recession fears and bolstered concerns that the Federal Reserve was behind the curve on lowering interest rates. Those worries sparked a global sell-off, pushing the S&P 500 on Aug. 5 to record its worst day since 2022.
But fresh data last week seemed to subdue an anxious market and boost hopes that the economy can attain a soft landing scenario. Investors saw good stats on retail sales and initial jobless claims, in addition to strong earnings from Walmart.
On top of that, the 12-month inflation rate measured by July’s consumer price index slowed to 2.9%. That marked its lowest reading in more than three years.
“The market has almost fully recovered from the overblown recession fears earlier this month,” said Greg Marcus, managing director pf UBS Private Wealth Management. But, “we expect volatility to remain high for the rest of the year.”
Now, Wall Street is looking ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Friday speech at the central bank’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Before then, traders will parse minutes from the Fed’s most recent meeting due on Wednesday. Investors are hoping for insights into the path of interest rates amid mounting hopes for a forthcoming cut.
“While we do remain generally bullish, we don’t see a straight line up in the market,” Marcus said. “The economy is slowing and there will likely be a mix of conflicting economic data points over the coming months, which is set to continue this recessionary debate.”
The Democratic National Convention also kicks off Monday.
