Stock futures rose Friday as the latest inflation data provided a boost to the market, helping investors make up ground at the end of a challenging month and quarter. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 209 points, or 0.6%, while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.7% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.9%. Nike shares also saw a significant increase of 10% in the premarket after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, showed a rise of 0.1% in August and 3.9% year over year, which was slightly better than expected.
The market responded positively to the core PCE reading, which excludes food and energy prices, as it came in line with economists’ expectations. The report is seen as welcome news to the Federal Reserve and may influence their decisions on interest rates. However, despite the recent gains, stocks are still facing losses for the month and the quarter. The S&P 500 is set to finish the month down 4.6% and the quarter down 3.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite is down nearly 6% for September and 4.3% for the quarter. The Dow is also on track for a decline of 3% for the month and 2.2% for the quarter.
In addition to the inflation data, the market is also influenced by the performance of the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which recently reached a 15-year high. Although the gains in yields have contributed to the losses in equities, they did not outweigh the overall negative performance for the month and quarter. As the week comes to a close, the S&P 500 is down about 0.5%, the Dow is down 0.9%, and the Nasdaq has experienced a less significant decline of 0.1%. Overall, September has been the worst month of 2023 for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, while the Dow is also experiencing losses for the month and quarter.