US Stocks Return To Cautious Ways As Powell-Induced Rally Loses Steam — Salesforce, China Stocks Among Premarket Movers

The U.S. index futures point to a modestly lower opening on Thursday, as the market pauses for a breather after Wednesday’s rally. Traders could turn their attention to the personal income and spending report that includes the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, oil’s move as well as tech and retail earnings scheduled for the day.

With Wednesday’s upside, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite settled at the highest level since Sept. 19 and the broader S&P 500 Index notched up a two-and-a-half month high. The Dow did even better with a climb to its best closing level since late April. Incidentally, the S&P 500 Index closed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since late April, giving rise to hopes for an inflection higher.

Here’s a peek into index futures trading:

In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSPY fell 0.18% to $406.94 and the Invesco QQQ TrustQQQ moved down 0.24% to $292.58, according to Benzinga Pro data.

On the economic front, the Challenger job cuts report for November is due at 7:30 a.m. EST. The report, compiled by Challenger, Grey & Christmas, provides data on corporate layoffs for a particular month.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release its personal income and spending report for October at 8:30 a.m. EST. The personal income growth is expected to remain steady at 0.4% month-over-month, while personal spending growth may have accelerated from 0.6% in September to 0.8%. The annual rate of the price consumption expenditure index – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to remain unchanged at 6.2%.

Around the same time, the Labor Department will release its jobless claims report for the week ended Nov. 30. Economists, on average expect a reduction in the number of individuals filing for unemployment benefits from 240,000 to 235,000.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan is scheduled to speak at 9:25 a.m. EST.

At 10 a.m. EST, the Institute for Supply Management is due to release its U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index. The index is expected to slip to 49.8, a reading suggesting the sector is in contraction.

The Commerce Department will release its construction spending report for October, also at 10 a.m. EST. Economists expect a 0.3% month-over-month drop in spending.

The U.S. Treasury will auction four-week and eight-week treasury bills at 11 a.m. EST.

See also: $1,000 Invested In SPY Just Before Thanksgiving Will Fetch This Much By Year-End If Returns Match 10-Year Average

Stocks In Focus:

• Salesforce, Inc. CRM moved down over 6% after the customer relationship software provider issued weak guidance and announced the departure of its co-CEO Bret Taylor.
• Okta, Inc. OKTA surged close to 14% in premarket trading on its better-than-expected results.
• Snowflake, Inc. SNOW fell over 5% in reaction its disappointing guidance.
• Shares of Chinese electric vehicle trio Nio, Inc. NIO, XPeng, Inc. XPEV and Li Auto, Inc. LI could be in focus following the release of their November deliveries data.
• Chinese e-commerce trio Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA, JD.com, Inc. JD and Pinduoduo, Inc. PDD headed lower.
• Kroger Co. KR, Big Lots, Inc. BIG, Dollar General, Inc. DG, Ambarella, Inc. AMBA, and Zscaler, Inc. ZS are among the companies reporting their earnings reports on Thursday.

Commodities, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were higher for a fourth straight session and traded moderately higher at above $81.

The markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly higher, drawing inspiration from Wall Street’s lead overnight and Powell’s speech. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index, however, bucked the uptrend and saw moderate losses.

European stocks opened higher and witnessed some volatility in early trading, as traders digested domestic economic data.

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