Stock futures are near flat Thursday night as investors looked to the end of a losing week and month and awaited key inflation data.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 45 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each rose 0.2%.
Those moves come as investors ready for the final trading day of the week and month on Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has led the way down, sliding around 5.5% in February due largely to a 5% drop this week.
The S&P 500 has slid 2.5% week to date, while the Dow has seen more modest losses with a retreat of just 0.4% Both are down nearly 3% on the month.
Traders have been rattled by President Donald Trump’s promise of tariffs and recent economic reports flashing warning signs. A decline of 8.5% in megacap tech titan Nvidia in Thursday’s session the back of earnings threw more cold water on investor sentiment.
“February is seasonally a volatile period of time for stocks, and that historical trend is playing out right now,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. “Investors are in search of more clarity on tariffs, elevated inflation and the state of the consumer.”
Investors on Friday will closely monitor January data for the personal consumption expenditures price index. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the measure of price changes for consumers to rise 0.3% from December for an annualized gain of 2.5%. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE is expect to increase by 0.3% month over month and 2.6% year over year.
Economic data on personal income and consumer spending is also expected in the morning.
SEC says most meme coins are not securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued long sought after guidance Thursday evening saying it does not deem most meme coins securities under U.S. federal law; that they have “limited or no use or functionality” and are “more akin to collectibles.”
“A meme coin does not constitute any of the common financial instruments specifically enumerated in the definition of ‘security’ because, among other things, it does not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business,” the statement said. “In other words, a meme coin is not itself a security.”
Dogecoin, the original meme coin and sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose 3%. The token tied to Solana, which has become the go-to host for meme coins – including the Official Trump meme coin – rose 2%.
Coinbase and Robinhood were up 1% each in after hours trading.
For more, read our full story here.
— Tanaya Macheel
Nasdaq-100 just suffered fastest 5% decline from an all-time high since Sept. 2020, Bespoke says
The Nasdaq-100 index has fallen 7.33% since reaching an all-time high of 22,175.6 six days ago on Wednesday Feb. 19, the fastest decline of 5% or more since Septemner 2020, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
The Nasdaq-100 is made up of the 100 largest companies, adjusted for modified market capitalization, that trade on Nasdaq in the materials, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, healthcare, industrials, technology, telecommunications, and utilities industries.
— Scott Schnipper
Stocks head for losing week and month
With just Friday’s session left in the trading week and month, the major major indexes are on track for losses. Here’s where they stand:
— Alex Harring
See the stocks moving after hours
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading:
- Elastic — The data analytics stock soared 18% following a better-than-expected report for the fiscal third quarter.
- Redfin — The real estate technology stock sank 12% after posting a wider loss per share in the fourth quarter than analysts expected, per LSEG.
- Rocket Lab — The space stock dropped 7% on the back of soft guidance.
Click here for the full list.
— Alex Harring
Futures edge higher
Dow futures ticked higher by 0.1% shortly after 6 p.m. ET. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures each added 0.2%.
— Alex Harring