US stocks headed for further losses on Thursday, as lingering concerns about rising long-term interest rates and Salesforce (CRM) sales dampened investor sentiment.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.9%, after losing more than 400 points to lead a stock market decline on Wednesday. Standard & Poor's 500 futures (ES=F) fell 0.4%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell nearly 0.3%.
Stocks lost momentum amid renewed gloom over the prospect of interest rate cuts, weighed down by data showing a slower slowdown in inflation than the Federal Reserve wants. At the same time, hopes that Nvidia's (NVDA) huge earnings would spur a broader stock rally were dashed.
Concern over interest rates pushed US bond yields this week to their highest levels since early May, lifting the 10-year Treasury note (^TNX) back above 4.5%. Although the benchmark yield fell on Thursday, it is still holding above a key level of around 4.6%.
Salesforce's results have raised further concerns about potential losers in the AI boom. Shares of the software maker fell 15% in premarket after it said sales growth would stall to the slowest in its history.
The focus is now on Thursday's data, as investors watch for more signs of surprising resilience in the US economy that are derailing the Federal Reserve's efforts to lower borrowing costs. There is a second reading of first quarter GDP and weekly unemployment claims.
Read more: How does the labor market affect inflation?
A wave of retail earnings before the bell provided further evidence of consumer resilience and economic health. Shares of Kohl's (KSS) collapsed after the department store chain's surprise quarterly loss and cut of its annual sales forecast. Meanwhile, Best Buy (BBY) posted a larger decline in comparable sales than expected as Americans become selective about spending on non-essentials.
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