Stock Market Today: Stocks dip with inflation on deck, Costco leaps

Check back for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures slipped lower Thursday, potentially testing the longest winning streak for the S&P 500 in three years, as investors braced for a key inflation reading and the start of the second quarter earnings season.

Stocks extended their winning ways again last night, with the S&P 500 rising 1.02% to close above the 5,600 point mark for the first time on record and take its run of consecutive session gains to seven, the longest since 2021.

It was a similar story for the Nasdaq, which keyed off record highs for Apple and the ongoing surges in Nvidia  (NVDA)  and Tesla  (TSLA)  shares to rise 1.18% to a fresh all-time high of 18,647.5 points while extending its 2024 gain to just over 24.2%.

Stocks are largely flat ahead of today’s crucial June inflation report, however, as investors look to pair the recent dovish signaling from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who wrapped-up two days of testimony in front of lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday, with data that is likely to show further easing in overall price pressures.

Headline CPI is forecast to ease to 3.1%, the lowest since last fall, while the closely-tracked core reding its likely to hold at 3.4%, a level that remains well above the Fed’s preferred 2% target. 

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said more “good data” is needed in order to justify a near-term rate cut, adding more focus to today’s June inflation report.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Treasury bond yields are easing into the reading, as well, with benchmark 10-year notes pegged at 4.278% following yesterday’s $39 billion auction of new paper which drew solid demand and an increase in foreign buyers, suggesting investors are bullish on the prospects of lower inflation over the coming months.

Benchmark 2-year note yields were little-changed at 4.264% while the U.S. dollar index slipped 0.16% against a basket of its global peers to trade at 104.880.

Related: Goldman Sachs on ‘correction watch’ as stocks track CPI, Powell shift

On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up just over 18.1% for the year, are priced for a modest 4 point pullback while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed just under the 40,000 point mark last night, suggest a 33 point pullback.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 20 points lower heading into today’s inflation report and weekly jobless claims figures, both of which will be released at 8:30 am Eastern time.

PepsiCo  (PEP)  kicked-off the second quarter earnings season with a stronger-than-expected bottom line of $2.28 per share, but its stock was marked 1.75% lower as revenues came in light of Street forecasts at $22.5 billion.

Costco  (COST)  shares, meanwhile, jumped 3.1% and look set to open at a fresh all-time high after the bulk discount retailer posted solid June sales and lifted its overall membership fees for the first time since 2017.

Related: Costco unveils major membership fee update

Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  shares slumped 6.3% after its posted modestly weaker-than-expected second quarter earnings of $2.36 per share while issuing muted near-term guidance on fare revenues.

More Wall Street Analysts:

Analyst revisits Nvidia stock price target after Blackwell checksAnalysts prescribe new Walgreens stock price targets after earningsAnalyst revises Facebook parent stock price target in AI arms race

In Europe, the region wide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.45% higher in Frankfurt, with Britain’s FTSE 100 rising 0.37% in London following a stronger-than-expected reading for June GDP growth that could tame expectations for a Bank of England rate cut. 

Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 printed another all-time high, rising 0.94% to close at 42,224.02 points thanks to more outsized gains for tech and chip stocks and a weaker yen.

The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, was marked 1.33% higher following a record close for stocks in Taiwan and the highest levels for the broadest gauge of world stocks in fourteen years.

Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks

Related Posts

Union Capital Financial Group Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands, does not provide investment services inside the United States. The company only provides consulting, advisory and educational services.