A man walks past the charging bull statue near the New York Stock Exchange.
Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Futures contracts pegged to major US stock indices rose Sunday evening after the S&P 500 posted its best week since February and a new record on Friday.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 rose 0.15% and those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50 points. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.15%.
Stocks saw their best week in months on Friday, as investors took a more relaxed view of inflation and viewed the current US price acceleration as a temporary rebound rather than an ongoing economic threat.
The S&P 500 finished Friday with a record high of 4,280.70 while the Dow rose 237.02 points, less than 2% off its record high. While the Nasdaq Composite closed slightly lower on Friday, it rose 2.35% for the week, its best since April 9, and rose 4.45% for the month of June.
The weekly gains even came after the Commerce Department reported that the inflation indicator rose 3.4% in May, the fastest increase since the early 1990s.
Spikes in the core consumer spending index can cause heartburn among investors as the Federal Reserve likes to watch it for signs of inflation. Still, the increase actually fell short of what economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast, and reaffirmed for investors that macroeconomic price increases are likely to be temporary and manageable.
The next key economic data is the June job report that the Department of Labor is slated to release on Friday.
Economists expect the number of non-farm workers to have increased by 683,000 in June. While such a robust figure would top 559,000 in May, it would still be below the 1 million some had hoped a US economy could see a rebound after the Covid-19 crisis.
Investors will also check the June report for signs of wage inflation as employers struggle to find workers to fill positions and pandemic-era unemployment benefits run out in some states.
A massive, bipartisan infrastructure deal appeared to be resurrected on Sunday evening after President Joe Biden made it clear on Saturday that he would not veto the bill if it comes without a separate Democrat-favored reconciliation bill.
The president, flanked by a bipartisan group of senators, said Thursday that after weeks of negotiations, the group had reached a billion-dollar deal to improve the country’s roads, bridges, waterways and broadband. Democrats are pushing for a second bill that would include funding for issues such as climate change, childcare, health care and education.
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