US stock futures were subdued in early trading on Friday morning after the S&P 500 hit a new high in its regular session.
Dow futures only rose 43 points. S&P 500 futures moved above the flatline while Nasdaq 100 futures traded in slightly negative territory.
Key averages rose on Thursday, aided by gains in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57 points, aided by a nearly 2% rise in Apple stock.
The S&P 500 rose 0.42% to close at a record high for the second day in a row.
The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, gaining more than 1% as Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and Google’s parent Alphabet closed higher.
Investors largely shook off an unexpected surge in unemployment claims from last week. The Department of Labor reported that total initial claims for the week ending April 3 totaled 744,000, well above the 694,000 expectation of economists polled by Dow Jones.
Government bond yields fell from their recent highs, with 10-year government bond yields at 1.6%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell described Thursday’s recovery from the pandemic as “uneven,” suggesting a more robust recovery is needed.
“The recovery remains uneven and incomplete,” Powell said Thursday in a virtual event presented by the International Monetary Fund and hosted by CNBC’s Sara Eisen. “This unevenness that we are talking about is a very serious problem.”
The major averages are supposed to end the week higher. The Dow is up nearly 1.6% this week. The S&P 500 has gained more than 1.9% since Monday. The Nasdaq Composite gained more than 2.5% towards Friday.
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