Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on November 26, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday night following a record day for stocks.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18 points, or 0.04%. On the other hand, S&P 500 futures slid 0.08%, and Nasdaq-100 futures moved 0.1% lower.
In extended trading, retailer American Eagle fell more than 13% after the company provided a weak forecast for the holiday quarter. By contrast, discount retailer Five Below surged around 14% on the heels of a better-than-expected third-quarter report.
During Wednesday’s trading session, the three major averages saw solid gains, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite scoring new closing records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed above 45,000 for the first time.
“I think there’s still gas in the tank as we move through December and into 2025,” Tony Pasquariello, global head of hedge fund coverage at Goldman Sachs, said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “I still think it is a bull market. I still think the primary trend is higher. If we’re right on growth, if we’re right on the Fed, if we’re right on technology, the raw ingredients would argue for the rally to continue.”
This comes as an ADP report earlier Wednesday showed that private payrolls grew less than expected in November. For the month, companies added 146,000, but economists polled by Dow Jones had expected 163,000 positions.
Investors are now awaiting key economic data that’s set to be released this week. Initial jobless claims data for the week ending Nov. 30 is scheduled to be released on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Additionally, nonfarm payrolls data for November is due out on Friday morning.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday during an onstage interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit that the U.S. economy is strong enough for the Fed to move carefully on rate cuts.
“The labor market is better, and the downside risks appear to be less in the labor market,” he said. “Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming [out] a little higher. So, the good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral.”
Fed funds futures trading suggests a 78% likelihood that the central bank will trim rates by a quarter point at its Dec. 17-18 meeting, but they imply a nearly 64% probability that policymakers will hold steady in January, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, more earnings reports are scheduled to be released Thursday before the bell, including Dollar General, Signet Jewelers and Kroger. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Ulta Beauty will report in the afternoon.
