Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures were little changed in overnight trading Thursday after the market wrapped up its fourth winning month and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reached its first closing record since November 2021.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 12 points. S&P 500 futures were flat and Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.1% lower.
Troubled regional bank New York Community Bancorp shed a whopping 20% in extended trading after the lender announced a leadership change and disclosed issues with its internal controls. The bank is already down more than 50% in 2024.
Major averages ended another positive month as the rally driven by an artificial intelligence boom and hopes for rate cuts chugged along. The Nasdaq was the best performer in February with a 6.1% gain. The S&P 500 climbed 5.2%, while the Dow added 2.2% for its first four-month winning streak since May 2021.
“We’re still firmly in the disinflationary camp and think the Fed will be forced to cut rates by June,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note.
Thursday’s gains came after inflation data showed the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, rose 0.4% in January, in line with expectations.
Bitcoin pulled off a fierce rally in February, up nearly 45% to top $62,000. It’s the token’s best month since December 2020 as well as its sixth-straight monthly gain.
On a weekly basis, the S&P 500 is tracking for a roughly 0.2% advance, while the Nasdaq is up 0.6%. The 30-stock Dow is the laggard, down nearly 0.4%.
