Traders
work
on
the
floor
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
on
June
18,
2024.
Spencer
Platt
|
Getty
Images
News
|
Getty
Images
S&P
500
futures
are
near
flat
Thursday
night
as
traders
await
closely
followed
inflation
data.
They
are
also
counting
down
to
the
end
of
what
has
been
a
strong
first
half
of
the
year.
Futures
tied
to
the
broad
market
index
ticked
up
0.1%,
while
Nasdaq
100
futures
added
nearly
0.3%.
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
futures
slipped
36
points,
or
0.1%.
In
after-hours
action,
Nike
shares
slipped
more
than
12%
after
the
athletic
retailer
cut
its
full-year
guidance.
Foot
Locker
shares
declined
nearly
than
5%
in
sympathy.
Those
moves
follow
a
muted
day
on
Wall
Street
as
investors
brace
for
the
release
of
May’s
core
personal
consumption
expenditures
price
index,
known
as
the
PCE,
Friday
morning.
The
Dow
and
S&P
500
each
inched
higher
by
around
0.1%,
while
the
Nasdaq
Composite
advanced
0.3%.
Considered
to
be
the
Federal
Reserve’s
preferred
inflation
gauge,
the
headline
PCE
reading
is
expected
to
be
flat
from
April
and
higher
by
2.6%
compared
to
a
year
ago.
Excluding
volatile
food
and
energy
prices,
the
core
PCE
is
forecast
to
come
in
0.1%
higher
on
the
month
and
2.6%
on
an
annualized
basis.
Inflation
stats
have
been
considered
paramount
by
markets
participants
as
they
try
to
guess
when
the
Fed
will
begin
cutting
interest
rates.
Traders
will
also
monitor
releases
on
spending,
personal
income
and
consumer
sentiment
due
throughout
the
morning.
Those
are
some
of
the
final
potential
market
catalysts
for
the
first
six
months
of
2024,
which
officially
concludes
with
Friday’s
closing
bell.
It
is
a
day
full
of
noteworthy
data,
as
it
marks
the
end
of
the
trading
week,
month,
quarter
and
half
year.
The
performance
of
the
S&P
500,
30-stock
Dow
and
the
Nasdaq
Composite
in
2024
The
technology-heavy
Nasdaq
Composite
has
led
the
way
over
the
first
half,
climbing
around
19%
as
artificial
intelligence
craze
captured
investor
excitement.
The
broad
S&P
500
has
jumped
nearly
15%,
while
the
blue-chip
Dow
has
lagged
with
a
gain
of
just
under
4%.
The
AI
theme
has
“taken
over
this
entire
year
and
really
propelled
the
concentration
in
the
overall
market,”
said
Mike
Dickson,
head
of
research
and
quantitative
strategies
at
Horizon
Investments.
“That’s
resulted
in
a
really
strong
year.”
Part
of
the
reason
for
the
Dow’s
underperformance
stems
from
an
idiosyncratic
pullback
in
the
second
quarter.
The
Dow
has
slipped
more
than
1.6%
during
the
period,
while
the
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
have
added
more
than
4%
and
9%,
respectively,
during
the
same
timeframe.
All
three
have
gained
ground
in
June.
The
Nasdaq
once
again
led
with
a
month-to-date
rally
of
more
than
6%.
The
S&P
500
and
Dow
gained
more
than
3%
and
1%,
respectively.
For
this
week
alone,
the
Nasdaq
has
advanced
nearly
1%.
The
S&P
500
has
ticked
up
around
0.3%,
while
the
Dow
is
near
its
flatline.
