US futures drift lower ahead of key PCE test; Dell slumps By

-- U.S. stock index futures drifted lower Friday,How to choose MT4 dealer extending losses after a two-day selloff ahead of the release of key PCE data for more cues on inflation. 

At 06:20 ET (10:20 GMT),  fell 50 points, or 0.1%,  fell 13 points, or 0.3%, while fell 75 points, or 0.4%. 

The main indices on Wall Street fell on Thursday, with the  falling 0.9%, the  dropping 0.6% and the ending 1.1% lower. 

A mix of weak earnings and profit taking has sparked steep losses in Wall Street over the past two sessions, but these indices are still on course for hefty gains this month.

Each of the major benchmarks are set to register a sixth positive month in seven -.the DJIA is up 0.8% this month, the S&P 500 is higher by 4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has gained about 7%, on track for its best month since November 2023.

PCE data looms large 

Also weighing on recent sentiment has increasing doubts over any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, especially as policymakers warned that sticky inflation will keep the central bank from loosening policy any time soon. 

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, for example, said on Thursday she is still worried about upside risks to inflation and warned the U.S. central bank needs to stay "flexible" and keep "all options on the table" as it watches the data and determines how to respond.

This brings the data, due later in the session, firmly into focus. The reading is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on interest rates.

It is expected to show that inflation eased slightly in April, but is also likely to remain well above the Fed’s 2% annual target range, giving the central bank little cause to begin trimming rates. 

Investors were also on edge over potential civil disruptions, after a New York court found Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president in November's pivotal election, guilty in a hush money scandal. Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11.

Dell slumps on weak earnings, Zscaler rises

In the corporate sector, the tail end of the first quarter earnings season bought a slew of disappointments. 

Dell Technologies (NYSE:) slumped 14% after the technology group unveiled a lower-than-anticipated current-quarter earnings outlook and indicated that higher spending on building out servers to meet artificial intelligence workloads would weigh on full-year margins.

Apparel retailer Nordstrom (NYSE:) fell over 7% on an underwhelming quarterly profit, while developer data platform (NASDAQ:) plunged 23%.

On the flip side, Gap (NYSE:) surged 20% after the clothes retailer raised its annual sales forecast and its first-quarter results beat market expectations, while Zscaler (NASDAQ:) rose 17% after the cloud security firm reported strong quarterly earnings and also hiked its guidance.

Crude heading for monthly losses

Crude prices hovered around the flatline Friday and were on course for monthly losses stemming in part from concerns that tight monetary policy will result in weaker demand this year.

By 06:20 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.1% lower at $77.83 per barrel, while the Brent contract was 0.1% higher at $81.92 a barrel. Both benchmarks are on course to decline by around 2% in May.

U.S. oil inventories saw a bigger-than-expected draw last week, according to data released on Thursday, but gasoline inventories grew 2 million barrels, more than expected. This raised concerns that demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer was sluggish going into the travel-heavy summer season.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.) 

 

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