Stock futures were flat on Wednesday evening as Wall Street looked to build on a modest rebound with key economic data on deck.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 17 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were little changed, and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped less than 0.1%.
Stocks rallied on Wednesday but did not erase all of the losses from Tuesday’s sell-off, which came on the heels of a hotter-than-expected inflation report. The S&P 500 recaptured the 5,000 level, closing slightly above it. Investors are weighing whether the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without derailing an economy that keeps surprising to the upside.
“Resilient growth is buoying inflation, which should also put upward pressure on rates. However, strong economic activity is also supporting earnings. And looking forward, the market is trading more on economic growth and earnings projections than interest rates and inflation,” said Dylan Kremer, chief investment officer at Certuity.
Investors will get another update about the state of the U.S. economy on Thursday, with January retail sales and weekly unemployment claims data due out before the opening bell on Wall Street.
Earnings season continues to paint a muddled picture of corporate America. Cisco shares were down 5% in extended trading after the tech company announced layoffs and weak forward sales projections. Tripadvisor jumped 7% after beating estimates on the top and bottom lines.
Fast-food company Shake Shack is scheduled to report earnings before the bell Thursday.
Berkshire Hathaway trims its Apple holdings
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trimmed several holdings during the fourth quarter, including Apple and HP, according to a securities filing published Wednesday.
Berkshire also requested that Securities and Exchange Commission keep at least one of its holdings under wrap. The firm made a similar request in its third quarter filing.
See the list of Berkshire’s top holdings on CNBC Pro.
— Jesse Pound, Yun Li
Cisco, Twilio headline post-earnings stock moves
Even if index futures were calm on Wednesday, earnings reports were driving big after hours moves in individual stocks.
Cisco — Shares of the tech company fell more than 5% after announcing layoffs in its quarterly update.
Tripadvisor —The travel stock popped 7% after fourth quarter results beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, according to LSEG.
Twilio — The tech stock sank 11%. Twilio’s revenue guidance for the fourth quarter was softer than expected, according to LSEG.
— Jesse Pound, Darla Mercado
Futures open little changed
Stock futures were effectively flat shortly after 6 pm in New York. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped but were still down less than 0.1%.
— Jesse Pound
