US stocks trod water on Friday after a tech-driven sell-off, as investors assessed earnings reports from big Wall Street banks and waited for inflation data that could test buoyant rate-cut hopes.
Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) hugged the flatline not far from the benchmark’s recent record high. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also traded little changed.
Stocks were stabilizing after the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both snapped a seven-day win streak on Thursday, as optimism over lower interest rates drove an exodus from Big Tech stocks.
A clutch of quarterly results from Wall Street banks got earnings season going in earnest before the bell, set to test the sector rally that has outstripped the S&P 500 this year.
JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) profit surged 25% in the second quarter, buoyed by rising investment banking fees and an $8 billion one-time gain linked to Visa, but shares slipped. Wells Fargo (WFC) stock sank 6% after it posted a drop in profit as it missed estimates for interest income. Citigroup (C) is also on the docket Friday.
At the same time, the market is weighing the shift from this year’s winners Nvidia (NVDA) and the “Magnificent 7” techs — which just booked their worst day in almost a year — to the likes of utilities and real estate stocks.
Thursday’s rotation out of techs came as investors took June’s surprisingly mild consumer inflation print as reason for the Federal Reserve to cut rates. The market is almost fully pricing in a reduction in September, and bets are growing on a second cut in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Now the debate has shifted from whether the Fed will act to how often and how deep, with some on Wall Street calling for rates to drop by as much as 0.75% by the end of the year. Given that, investors will keep a watchful eye on the Producer Price Index for June later Friday for confirmation of an easing in price pressures.
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