Stock futures were calm on Tuesday evening after Wall Street saw the S&P 500 close at a fresh high.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 10 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also within 0.1% of the flat line.
The move in futures comes after a rally for stocks on Tuesday that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each gain more than 1%.
The rise for equities came despite a consumer price index that showed inflation was mildly higher than expected in February, further clouding the outlook for when the Federal Reserve will start to cut interest rates. Notably, stocks jumped even as bond yields moved higher.
“We don’t think it is going to be the Fed that kills this economic cycle. Ultimately what determines the end of this expansion is going to be based on whether we have some kind of shock … Otherwise, you can be in what we would consider late cycle for a considerable amount of time,” Gabriela Santos, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on “Closing Bell.”
The bull market for stocks has shown signs of broadening out in recent weeks, but chipmaker Nvidia still remains a key bellwether. Shares of Nvidia rose more than 7% on Tuesday, erasing nearly all of their losses from the prior two sessions and bringing the year to date gain to about 86%.
Earnings season is winding down, with Dollar Tree expected to report on Wednesday morning. Homebuilder Lennar is slated to post results after the close.
State of the S&P 500 sectors with the index at record highs
The S&P 500 posted its 17th record close of the year on Tuesday. Here’s how the market looked under the surface:
- Seven of 11 sectors were positive on Tuesday
- Tech was the best performing sector, gaining 2.5%
- Utilities was the worst sector, falling nearly 1%.
- All sectors are within 10% of their 52-week highs.
- All sectors are currently above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes
Futures open little changed
Traders work on the floor during morning trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 06, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Futures for the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq 100 were all within 0.1% of the flat line when trading reopened at 6 p.m.
— Jesse Pound
Coinbase falls after announcing debt offering
Shares of Coinbase fell more than 2% in extended trading after after the crypto exchange announced a $1 billion convertible note offering.
Coinbase said in the release that it will use the proceeds to pay off its outstanding debt or for general corporate purposes.
Coinbase stock has surged this year with bitcoin reaching record highs. Shares of the company are up more than 40% year to date.
— Jesse Pound
