A trader on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
US stock futures were largely flat Wednesday night after the market’s blue chip average hit another record high during regular trading hours.
Futures contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10 points, or less than 0.1%. Those for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 went up about 0.1%.
The move in the futures came after the Dow jumped 464 points to a record high on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell slightly as growth stocks resumed rotation.
Wednesday’s gains came as the House approved the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package and sent it to President Joe Biden, and as the bond market handled a $ 38 billion 10-year treasury auction with no spike in volatility.
Rising interest rates have accelerated the rotation from technology and growth stocks to more cyclical sectors, such as energy, in recent weeks. Higher interest rates make long-term gains less attractive to investors and can overturn stocks with relatively high valuations.
“The faster-than-expected acceleration of US economic growth appears to be driving up inflation and longer interest rates,” Gary Schlossberg of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a note. “The pace of these increases has been a recent concern for investors, but a recovery in interest rates and inflation is typical early in a recovery – faster this time, in our opinion, due to the unusually strong recovery in economic growth. “
However, this week has been stronger for growth stocks in general, as a rise in the Nasdaq pulled the index out of correction territory on Tuesday. The Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, is up slightly this week after falling in the previous three weeks.
On Thursday, investors will receive two new reports on the recovery of the labor market on Thursday. The first issue of last week’s unemployment filings will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists polled by Dow Jones expecting 725,000 new filings. The January vacancy and job turnover survey comes later in the morning.