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Stock Market News: Dow Falls
The Nasdaq Composite, however, edged up.
Last Updated:
March 22, 2024 at 6:04 PM EDT
Updated 1 month ago
Stock Futures Are Falling After Record Highs
(Dreamstime)
U.S. stock futures stalled in record high territory on Friday amid a rally driven by confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates multiple times in the coming months.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49 points, or 0.1%, after the index surged 269 points on Thursday to finish at 39,781. S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, with contracts tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq down less than 0.3%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note hovered at 4.24%.
All three major indexes finished at all-time highs on Thursday amid the continuation of a rally that kicked off after the latest Fed decision on Wednesday. While the central bank held borrowing costs steady, signals from the Fed suggested that, despite recent hot inflation data, rate cuts are still on the agenda. Traders have since moved to further price in a rate cut by June and stocks surged, with sentiment little changed on Friday though futures were little moved.
“The market rally has continued in force over the last 24 hours, driven by growing confidence that rate cuts are finally on the horizon,” said Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank.
“Dovish news has given markets a significant boost, and marks a big shift from where we began the week. Indeed, it’s worth remembering that it was only last week that the U.S. consumer-price index and producer-price index [inflation] numbers surprised on the upside, which led to growing speculation that the Fed would dial up the hawkishness.”