US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow set to open slightly higher

  • Reuters
  • Stock Market News
US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow set to open slightly higher
Credit: © Reuters.

* Consumer spending rose 0.1 percent last month

* Nike (NYSE: NKE ) up after it said it would launch pilot program with Amazon

* Futures slightly higher: Dow up 34 pts, S&P up 3 pts, Nasdaq down 5.5 pts (Adds comments, updates price)

By Ankur Banerjee and Anya George Tharakan

June 30 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average looked set to open slightly higher on Friday after consumer spending data for May showed steady economic growth as the second quarter draws to a close.

U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in May and inflation cooled, pointing to a slow-but-steady economic expansion that could still lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by the end of the year. S&P 500 and the Dow recorded their worst daily percentage drop in about six weeks on Thursday as a recent decline in technology shares deepened and outweighed strength in bank shares. would not surprise me to have a lot of volatility, considering the financials were particularly strong yesterday and technology was particularly weak," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC.

"We have what appears to be some sector rotation going on, and its occurring at the end of the quarter and its adding to the volatility."

Towards the end of the second quarter, the market witnessed a few volatile days. On Wednesday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted its best day since Nov. 7.

Tech stocks, which have led the S&P 500's 8-percent gain this year, pulled back recently as some investors questioned the sector's high valuations.

Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were up 34 points, or 0.16 percent, at 8:41 a.m. ET with 34,703 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were up 3 points, or 0.12 percent, with 217,782 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 5.5 points, or 0.1 percent, on volume of 56,522 contracts.

Crude oil futures on Friday were on track for their biggest weekly gain since mid-May, ending five weeks of losses with prices underpinned by a decline in U.S. output. O/R

The euro came off yearly highs on Friday but was still set for its strongest quarter in six years as investors piled into the currency on a brightening euro zone economy and its implications for monetary policy in the bloc.

The final reading of University Of Michigan Surveys Of Consumers Sentiment for June is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT)

On the stocks, Nike shares NKE.N were up 6 percent after the world's largest footwear maker said on Thursday it would launch a pilot program with Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O to sell a limited product assortment on its website. of Cara Therapeutics Inc CARA.O plunged 29 percent after the biotech reported disappointing pain treatment data from a key study. MU.O shares were up 2 percent after the chipmaker forecast better-than-expected profit and revenue for fourth quarter

Add Chart to Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

  • Enrich the conversation
  • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
  • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
  •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
  • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
  • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

Error: File type not supported

Drop an image here or

100
Please try another search