S&P 500 futures climb as investors await inflation data and end of second quarter: Live updates

S&P 500 futures climbed Friday morning as traders await closely followed inflation data. They are also counting down to the end of what has been a strong first half of the year.

Futures tied to the broad market index ticked up 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.32%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 13 points, or 0.03%.

In after-hours action, Nike shares slipped more than 12% after the athletic retailer cut its full-year guidance. Foot Locker shares declined nearly than 5% in sympathy.

Those moves follow a muted day on Wall Street as investors brace for the release of May’s core personal consumption expenditures price index, known as the PCE, Friday morning. The Dow and S&P 500 each inched higher by around 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.

Considered to be the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the headline PCE reading is expected to be flat from April and higher by 2.6% compared to a year ago. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PCE is forecast to come in 0.1% higher on the month and 2.6% on an annualized basis.

Inflation stats have been considered paramount by markets participants as they try to guess when the Fed will begin cutting interest rates. Traders will also monitor releases on spending, personal income and consumer sentiment due throughout the morning.

Those are some of the final potential market catalysts for the first six months of 2024, which officially concludes with Friday’s closing bell. It is a day full of noteworthy data, as it marks the end of the trading week, month, quarter and half year.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has led the way over the first half, climbing around 19% as artificial intelligence craze captured investor excitement. The broad S&P 500 has jumped nearly 15%, while the blue-chip Dow has lagged with a gain of just under 4%.

The AI theme has “taken over this entire year and really propelled the concentration in the overall market,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments. “That’s resulted in a really strong year.”

Part of the reason for the Dow’s underperformance stems from an idiosyncratic pullback in the second quarter. The Dow has slipped more than 1.6% during the period, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have added more than 4% and 9%, respectively, during the same timeframe.

All three have gained ground in June. The Nasdaq once again led with a month-to-date rally of more than 6%. The S&P 500 and Dow gained more than 3% and 1%, respectively.

For this week alone, the Nasdaq has advanced nearly 1%. The S&P 500 has ticked up around 0.3%, while the Dow is near its flatline.