Stock futures experienced a decline early Thursday morning as the S&P 500 faced its first negative session in four days. Specifically, S&P 500 futures traded down by 0.27%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 0.25%. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw a decrease, plunging by 141 points, or 0.33%.
In extended trading, shares of Oracle experienced a significant boost, surging more than 7% after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The tech giant also expressed optimism for future growth, projecting that cloud infrastructure revenue will rise by over 70% in fiscal 2026, a substantial increase from the 50% growth rate reported in the previous fiscal year.
Wednesday marked a challenging session on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 snapping its three-day winning streak, a trend mirrored by the Nasdaq Composite. However, the declines were modest; the broad market index fell approximately 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained relatively unchanged during this period.
While the recent losses have pushed the S&P 500 slightly further away from achieving a new record high, it still stands just over 2% below its peak reached in late February. These fluctuations come on the heels of consumer prices rising less than anticipated in May, with the consumer price index increasing by only 0.1% for the month, which is below the Dow Jones forecast of 0.2%. Moreover, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, also saw a lesser-than-expected increase.
Scott Wren, a senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo, shared insights with CNBC's Closing Bell on Wednesday, expressing skepticism about the market's confidence in avoiding further inflation increases. “With all the things going on, the economy slowing, earnings growth likely to slow, and numerous trade negotiations still in progress, is there really a good reason to aim for the record high? I don’t think so,” Wren stated. He added that it seems reasonable for the market to exhibit some volatility, potentially leading to further downside.
Investors are now turning their attention to the upcoming reading of the producer price index (PPI), which is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipate that the index will reflect a gain of 0.2% for the month. Excluding food and energy, the core PPI is expected to show growth of 0.3%.
The market is also closely monitoring developments in trade negotiations, particularly between the U.S. and China. This week has seen significant discussions, and although officials reached an agreement in London, the deal is pending approval from both U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump took to Truth Social earlier on Wednesday to announce, “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%.” However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later clarified that U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will remain unchanged at their current levels.
