Stock futures rose Friday morning, putting major indexes on track for new record highs, as the market looks to close out another winning week.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.6% recently as UnitedHealth (UNH) surged more than 10% following news late Thursday that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had taken a stake in the struggling insurer. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%.
Stocks finished yesterday’s session near unchanged after spending most of the day in negative territory following a report on wholesale inflation that came in hotter than expected, which tempered expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Nonetheless, the benchmark S&P 500 index managed to eke out a gain, hitting a record high for the third day in a row, while the Dow is only about 100 points away from its first record high since December. Each of the major indexes are on track for their second straight week of gains.
Investors are keeping close tabs on several economic data releases this morning. A report on retail sales came in largely as expected, while a closely watched reading on consumer sentiment is due later this morning. Market participants are watching the data for confirmation of trends that would make make the Fed more likely to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time this year.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies were mostly higher in premarket trading, though the moves were modest. Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) were each up less than 1%. Broadcom (AVGO) ticked lower.
Intel (INTC) shares rose more than 3% following reports late Thursday that the Trump administration is weighing the possibility of taking a stake in the beleaguered chipmaker.
Other semiconductor stocks were under pressure this morning. Applied Materials (MAT) plunged 13% after issuing a disappointing outlook, while KLA Corp. (KLAC) and Lam Research (LRCX) both dropped 5%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down about 1%.
Steelmaker Nucor (NUE) was up 5% recently, while homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) gained more than 3% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had acquired stakes in the companies.
Bitcoin was trading $118,700 this morning, up from around $117,500 yesterday afternoon. The digital currency hit a record high of $124,500 early yesterday before falling sharply as the day progressed.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.5% at 97.80, trading at its lowest level in three weeks.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was holding steady at 4.29%, after surging following yesterday’s inflation report. The yield fell as low as 4.18% last week, its lowest level since early May, as market expectations for interest rate cuts by the Fed increased after a weak July jobs report.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were down 0.9% at $63.40 per barrel, trading near their lowest levels since early June. Gold futures were up 0.2% at $3,390 an ounce.