Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 1, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Futures tied to the S&P 500 were little changed Monday night after the broad market index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped to begin April.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each dipped lower by less than 0.1%. Futures tied to the 30-stock Dow slipped 118 points, or 0.3%, as shares of UnitedHealth fell.
In extended trading, health insurers slid after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized the 2025 rate announcement for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug coverage. In 2025, payments from the government toward these plans are expected to rise 3.7% year over year, unchanged from an earlier proposed rate. Humana lost 9%, while UnitedHealth dropped 4% and CVS Health tumbled 6%.
To conclude Monday’s session, the Dow fell nearly 241 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 slid 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend by ending 0.1% higher.
The moves came after data from the manufacturing sector topped economists’ expectations, casting doubts on the urgency of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Fed funds futures data now suggests a 58% probability that the central bank will cut rates at its June meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The market now appears to be in a “relatively comfortable place,” David Miller, co-founder and chief investment officer of Catalyst Capital Advisors told CNBC. He expects equities to trade relatively range-bound in the near future.
“Valuations right now are fairly reasonable. I don’t think investors have unrealistic expectations,” he said. “I think we will need some real surprises — either from those employment reports or our next CPI number — to get away from where we are today.”
On the economic front, traders will be looking for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from February, out Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. Durable orders for February are also on deck Tuesday morning. The main event this week will be March’s big payrolls report due Friday.
