Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 16, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures traded near the flatline on Wednesday evening after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite logged a fourth straight day of losses.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were little changed.
In extended trading, credit bureau Equifax declined 6.4% on disappointing second-quarter guidance that missed Wall Street estimates. Shares of Las Vegas Sands slipped 2.3% after first-quarter revenue narrowly beat analysts’ forecasts.
Tech stocks struggled on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite registering their fourth consecutive losing session. Nvidia pulled both indexes lower, as the artificial intelligence play dropped nearly 4%. The 30-stock Dow fell for its seventh session in eight.
Wednesday’s market pullback adds to a more difficult second quarter on Wall Street. All three major indexes are lower so far in April, in stark contrast to the stronger-than-expected market performance seen in the first quarter. The Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have also closed below their respective 50-day moving averages.
“The initial support for the S&P on that breakdown was 5000 or just below,” JPMorgan head of technical strategy Jason Hunter said on “Closing Bell” Wednesday. “Now the question is does a bounce develop from there … and if it does, is it able to get back above the breakdown levels — the 50-day moving average, the area where it gapped down from?” He said he’s watching the 5,150 to 5,200 level of the S&P 500 as key resistance.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims data will be due on Thursday morning, and the existing home sales report for March is also out.
Earnings season also heats up with Alaska Air Group and KeyCorp reporting results before the bell, followed by Netflix in the afternoon.
