Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 19, 2025.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures traded near the flatline Thursday night after an attempt at extending Wednesday’s Federal Reserve-fueled rally failed.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 inched up 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 27 points, or 0.07%. Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%.
The action follows a losing session for the major averages. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3%. The 30-stock Dow lost 11.31 points, or 0.03%.
Even as Fed policymakers kept their forecast for two rate cuts this year, they raised their inflation outlook and trimmed their economic growth expectations. The forecast raised the specter of stagflation – a scenario of rising inflation as the economy’s growth slows. Uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariff policies has rattled stocks in recent weeks, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that tariffs may “delay” progress on inflation.
Tariff worries are also weighing on companies, according to Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management.
“Companies are increasingly citing confusion and uncertainty around their planning and capital spending and hiring decisions — and when they pause, it means that they’re slowing down,” he said. “There’s an element of that playing out in the markets.”
It has been an ugly month, with the Nasdaq still sitting in correction – that is, more than 10% off its most recent peak – and the S&P 500 briefly touching correction territory last week.
Nevertheless, the S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.4% advance in the period and about to break a four-week losing streak. The Dow is on track for a 1.1% gain, marking its best weekly performance since late January. The Nasdaq, however, is off about 0.4%, heading for its fifth straight losing week and its longest stretch of weekly losses since May 2022.
