Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 7, 2022 in New York City.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures rose in early Monday trading after the major averages posted their second straight week of losses for the first time since September. Investors also struggled to shake off recession fears.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 38 points, or 0.11%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.14% and 0.13%, respectively.
The overnight moves followed another week down for equities after the US Federal Reserve announced a short-term 50 basis point rate hike and signaled higher interest rates longer term. Recession fears mounted as the central bank upgraded its forecast for future rate hikes above previous expectations, saying it now expects rates to rise to 5.1%.
On Friday, the Dow fell 281.76 points, or 0.85%. The 30-stock index fell 1.66% on the week, bringing its monthly losses to 4.83%. The S&P 500 fell 1.11% this week and plunged 2.08%, taking its monthly declines to 5.58%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.97% on Friday and 2.72% on the week. It’s down 6.65% this month.
“Monetary policy has quickly turned hawkish after the Fed hiked interest rates by 400 basis points in 9 months,” wrote Ed Moya, Oanda’s senior market strategist, in a note to a client on Friday. “The risks of a recession will only increase now [Fed chair Jerome Powell] has signaled that we should expect ‘ongoing increases’.”
Earnings season continues this week with reports from Nike and FedEx on Tuesday. The National Association of Home Builders survey, which measures monthly sentiment, is due to be released on Monday.
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