Traders working on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 19, 2021.
NYSE
Stock futures remained stable in overnight trading on Wednesday as investors wait for new labor market data to gauge the pace of the economic recovery.
The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just 10 points. The S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures have barely changed.
Snowflake stocks fell 5% in extended trading after the data analytics software company reported growing losses.
Nvidia stock fell around 1% in after-hours trading even after the chip giant’s profits and sales exceeded Wall Street’s expectations in the first quarter. Sales increased by 88% compared to the previous year.
The move in futures followed a relatively quiet session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 posted a 0.2% gain in light trading, helped by gains in stocks linked to the economic reopening, including airlines and cruise lines. The blue-chip Dow ended Wednesday’s session barely changed, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%.
Trading is expected to be muted before Memorial Day weekend.
“Equity markets are calm as investors continue to look to the Fed’s next move,” said Mark Hackett, director of investment research at Nationwide. “Low volatility and trading volume often occur during the week leading up to a public holiday.”
Investors are waiting for the latest US weekly jobless claims data to be released Thursday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a total of 425,000 Americans to have applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 22nd. The week before, unemployment claims hit a new low in the pandemic of 444,000.