Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading on February 1, 2023 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Sunday night after the major averages posted their biggest weekly losses of the year and ahead of another big week in retail earnings.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly below the flat line.
The major averages on Friday finished the day lower and posted their biggest weekly declines for 2023. The Dow ended lower by 3%, its fourth straight week of decline. The S&P 500 lost 2.7% and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% for the week.
Stocks fell on Friday and Treasury yields rose after a bigger-than-expected increase in the latest reading for personal consumption expenditureThe Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
The early rally in 2023 appears to be slowing as investors absorb minutes from the latest Fed meeting, which reiterated the central bank’s tough stance on inflation, as well as recent comments from Fed officials warning that interest rates could rise higher and longer than expected.
“As we enter a seasonally weak period, with rising bets that the Fed may go with a 50bps hike instead of a 25bps one in March, although still a minority view, short-term market risk remains on the downside despite three straight weeks of losses “, says Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of growth investment firm Navellier & Associates. “The bears are dusting themselves off after being pillaged in January.”
In the coming week, investors will look for clues about how inflation is affecting consumers and businesses among a handful of economic data reports and corporate earnings. Orders for durable goods go out on Monday morning. Consumer confidence and the ISM manufacturing survey are also on deck in the coming week.
In earnings, just 6% of the S&P 500 will report but investors are looking for insight into the consumer with several major retailers, restaurants, some travel and entertainment names and food companies set to report. Target, Costco, Lowe’s and Macy’s are some of the big names set to report earnings this week.