Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 16, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were flat Tuesday morning after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched their longest winning streaks of 2024.Â
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 5 points, or 0.01%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 flickered near the flatline, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.14%.
In after-hours trading, cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks added 2% after posting top and bottom line beats for the fiscal fourth quarter. Guidance for adjusted earnings in the current quarter came in ahead of estimates.
The action follows another winning day for the major averages. The S&P 500 advanced nearly 1%, while the Nasdaq added 1.4%. Both indexes posted their eighth straight positive session, a first for the S&P 500 since November 2023. It was the longest winning stretch for the Nasdaq since December 2023.
The major averages have bounced back amid a dramatic fall in market volatility from the start of the month. The CBOE Volatility Index is now at 14.7 after topping 65 on Aug. 5 â the day the S&P 500 posted its worst session since 2022 amid a global market sell-off. Strong retail sales data and a soft inflation report issued last week have helped soothe investors’ fears on the economy.Â
This week, investors are readying themselves for the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give remarks Friday. Wall Street is looking for hints of what to expect at the Fed’s September meeting.
The Fed wants to signal that “they are on top of the curve â not behind it. But at the same time, they don’t want to be too aggressive in removing the pressure before the fire is out,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
“The real question is not just the timing, but the magnitude” of rate cuts, Stovall added. Fed futures funds pricing indicates a roughly 76% likelihood of central bank policymakers lowering rates by 25 basis points in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
In the way of earnings, investors will watch for second-quarter results from home improvement retailer Lowe’s.
Source Agencies
