Traders on the floor of the NYSE, April 7, 2022.
Source: NYSE
The U.S. stock futures changed slightly on Thursday night after major averages returned late as investors assessed the possibility of a tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 10 points, or 0.03%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.04% and 0.07%, respectively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded on Thursday after two consecutive days of losses. After falling 300 points at the start of the session, the Dow rose 87.06 points, or 0.25%, to 34,583.57. The S&P 500 rose 0.43% to 4,500.21, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.06% to 13,897.30.
The session came amid continuing uncertainty as investors weighed in on a more aggressive stance by the Federal Reserve against inflation. On Wednesday, the central bank released its March meeting minutes, indicating that policymakers plan to reduce their bond holdings by about $ 95 billion a month. The minutes also indicated a possible 50 basis point increase in interest rates at future meetings.
“We’re in a trading range market and it will remain that way for some time to come,” Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell”. “And that’s really because we have so many unknowns to deal with.”
On the economic front, the wholesale inventory report will be released at 10 a.m. Friday.
Investors are also waiting for the earnings season, which will begin next week with reports from the five largest banks. JPMorgan will report hours before Wednesday. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo will report before the market opens on Thursday.