U.S. stock futures were little changed on Thursday night after the major averages staged a late-day comeback as investors appraised the likelihood of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve to combat inflation.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up 2 points, or 0.01%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.01% and 0.05%, respectively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back on Thursday after two straight days of losses. The Dow rose 87.06 points, or 0.25%, to 34,583.57 after dropping as much as 300 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 gained 0.43% to 4,500.21, and the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.06% to 13,897.30.
The choppy session occurred amid continued uncertainty as investors weighed a more aggressive stance against inflation by the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday, the central bank disclosed its March meeting minutes, revealing that policymakers plan to reduce their bond holdings by a consensus amount of about $95 billion a month. The minutes also indicated potential interest rate hikes of 50 basis points in future meetings. A basis point equals 0.01%.
“We’re in a trading range market and it’s going to be this way for some time,” Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “And it’s really because we just have so many unknowns to deal with.”
On the economic front, the wholesale inventories report will be released 10 a.m. Friday.
Investors are also looking ahead to earnings season, which will kick off next week with reports from five big banks. JPMorgan will report before the bell on Wednesday. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo will report before markets open on Thursday.
