Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its longest win streak going back to December.
Futures linked to the 30-stock Dow rose by 49 points, or 0.12%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.09%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%.
Wall Street is coming off a positive session for the major averages. The blue-chip Dow advanced 0.85%, registering a seventh straight day of gains in the benchmark’s best showing since a nine-day win streak in December. The S&P 500 gained 0.51%, closing above 5,200 for the first time since early April. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27%.
Investors have been more optimistic lately after the Federal Reserve indicated the next move is unlikely to be a hike, pointing to a cap on interest rates that could be bullish for equities. A strong earnings season, as well as some softer labor data, have also bolstered confidence in the stock outlook.
“What’s important in all of this context is, ‘are we in the early stages of a long-term bull market or not?'” Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer of Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank. “It feels comfortable saying it on a day like this, but we are, in our opinion.”
Stocks were on pace for a winning week as of Thursday’s close. The Dow has gained 1.8%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were higher by 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively.
A slate of central bank officials are scheduled to speak Friday, including Fed presidents Lorie Logan of Dallas, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Austan Goolsbee of Chicago. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will also make an appearance.
On the economic front, May consumer sentiment data that’s due out Friday is expected to ease slightly to 76.0, down from 77.2.
Individual investors were last this ‘neutral’ on stocks eight months ago, AAII says
The percentage of individual investors who are neutral — neither bullish nor bearish — about the outlook for stock prices over the coming six months widened to 35.4% from 29% in the latest survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, the highest such reading since last September and above the historical average of 31.5%.
Bullishness rose to 40.8% from 38.5%, above the historical average of 37.5% for the 26th time in 27 weeks.
Bearish sentiment slumped to 23.8% of those polled, down from 32.5% last week and the historical average of 31%. It was the first time in four weeks that pessimism was below its historical average.
Contrarians who like to bet against the crowd say that rising bullishness means investors have less cash to put to work in the market and have less buying in front of them than behind them. Rising bearishness means the reverse — there’s more money to invest and more selling has been done.
— Scott Schnipper
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.
- Yelp — Shares of the restaurant review site slid 6% as Yelp posted light second-quarter revenue guidance. The company reported first-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share, surpassing analysts’ estimates of 6 cents a share, per LSEG. Revenue for the period came in line with expectations, however, at $333 million.
- Sweetgreen — The salad chain popped 5% after Sweetgreen reported first-quarter revenue of $158 million, topping the LSEG consensus estimate of $152 million. Earnings were not immediately comparable with estimates.
- Akamai Technologies — The cloud company slid nearly 9%, tumbling on the back of weak guidance for the second quarter. Akamai sees adjusted earnings ranging from $1.51 to $1.56 per share on revenue of $967 million to $986 million. Analysts polled by LSEG called for earnings of $1.63 per share and revenue of $1 billion.
— Sarah Min
Stock futures open little changed Thursday night
Stock futures opened little changed.
Futures linked to the 30-stock Dow rose by 33 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.04%.
— Sarah Min
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