By Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) -U.S. stocks were set for a higher open on Friday as Treasury yields extended declines from the previous session after recent weak economic data supported bets of a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve next year.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq eked out marginal gains on Thursday as Treasury yields fell after higher-than-expected jobless claims data underscored market expectations that interest rates have peaked.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped further to a two-month low on Friday and was last at 4.414%. [US/]
Some megacap stocks edged higher in premarket trading, with Amazon.com and Nvidia up 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.
Limiting gains on futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq, Applied Materials shares lost 7.1% on news that the semiconductor equipment maker was under investigation.
Futures for the small-cap Russell 2000 index climbed 1.23%, outperforming broader markets.
“Momentum buying is increasing and it’s increasing because bad news right now is good news for the stock market,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
“We had a slew of macro indicators that were weak and that kept yields from reversing and the downward trend seems to be in place. That’s what’s propelling stocks here.”
Wall Street’s three main indexes were poised to gain about 2% for the week, also on course for their third straight week of gains, as multiple data, including the consumer and producer prices index, pointed towards easing inflationary pressures.
While money markets have fully priced in the Fed will hold rates steady at the current 5.25%-5.50% level in its December meeting, they also see a near 69% chance of at least a 25 basis point rate cut in May 2024, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Investors will now await comments due later in the day from Fed officials, including policy voting member Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, for any cues on the monetary policy trajectory.
At 8:34 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 141 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 15.75 points, or 0.35%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.11%.
Among other movers, Gap surged 18.4% before the bell as the apparel retailer posted better-than-expected third-quarter results due to improving sales at Old Navy and easing supply expenses.
ChargePoint Holdings slumped 31.0% as the electric-vehicle charging network provider lowered estimates for its third-quarter revenue and appointed Rick Wilmer as CEO.
Manchester United jumped 7.9% on a report that the English soccer club is set to finalize a $33 per share deal with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
