U.S. stocks rose before the bell on Friday, poised for another comeback attempt as investors await crucial inflation data that will test high expectations for interest rate cuts.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.5%, or about 200 points, after the index closed slightly higher. S&P 500 futures rose about 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose about 1%, both after failing to recover from a selloff led by technology stocks this week.
Stocks are looking positive after a series of volatile sessions that put major indexes on track for big weekly losses. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) were bruised as earnings from big tech companies undermined confidence in AI trading, prompting a continued migration from giants to small-cap stocks.
This pause in this year’s rally has Wall Street wondering whether the selloff is a turning point toward sustained declines or just a typical bull market pullback. Earnings are playing a role, fueling concerns about a weak U.S. economy, though Thursday’s surprise GDP data has somewhat eased those concerns.
Now the focus is on the release of the June update to the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, on Friday. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET and will fuel expectations about the timing and depth of interest rate cuts, testing Wall Street’s resolve. Confidence in September transformation.
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Investors are also set to hear quarterly earnings next week from four other “magnificent seven” tech companies — Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) — that could eventually revive the tech selloff. Meanwhile, 3M (MMM) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are scheduled to report on Friday.