US stock futures inched lower on Friday as Wall Street took stock of the US economy from a lofty, record-setting perch ahead of the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated decision on interest rates next week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) and S&P 500 futures (ES=F) both edged down roughly 0.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slipped just below the flat line. All three major indexes rallied to records on Thursday, with the Dow (^DJI) closing above 46,000 for the first time.
Investors have taken in several weeks’ worth of economic data to gain clues on the Fed’s next move. Over the last week, jobs data has shown clear signals of labor market weakness, with just over 20,000 jobs added last month and weekly initial jobless claims surging to a near four-year high.
Meanwhile, inflation remains stubborn, with consumer prices rising last month amid more signs that President Trump’s tariffs are filtering their way into the economy. But investors are betting inflation is tame enough for the Fed to cut next week — and then some.
Traders are pricing in a more than 90% chance of a quarter-point cut when the Fed holds its September meeting. Beyond that, around 80% expect the central bank to cut the equivalent of three times before the end of the year.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
The lead-up to the Fed in the next few days will likely be quieter. But Friday brings an initial reading of consumer sentiment this month from the University of Michigan. Though most signals point to consumer spending holding steady, Americans are souring on their purchasing power — and on the job market as a whole.
For now, the three major stock indexes are all headed for weekly gains of around 1.6%. The Dow (^DJI) on track for its first win in three weeks after crossing 46,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are set for their best showing since early August.
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Premarket trending tickers: SMCI, Microsoft and RH
Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:
Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) stock rose 5% before the bell on Friday. The company announced on Thursday that it had begun delivering high volume NVIDIA HGX B300 systems and NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 in volume to customers worldwide.
Microsoft (MSFT) stock rose 1% in premarket trading following the news that they had signed a non-binding deal with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) for new relationship terms that would allow OpenAI to proceed to restructure itself into a for-profit company.
RH (RH) shares fell 10% before the bell after the luxury furniture retailer met Wall Street revenue expectations for its second-quarter results, but next quarter’s revenue guidance was less impressive, coming in 2% below analysts estimates.
Opendoor has another Wall Street believer
Opendoor (OPEN) shares continue to be in focus after the online real-estate platform somehow nabbed a top executive from Shopify (SHOP) — Kaz Nejatian — to become its new CEO this week.
That has caught the eye of JP Morgan analyst Dae Lee, who is overweight rated on the stock.
Lee says:
I recently caught up with my long-time contact Eric Jackson over at EMJ Capital on Opendoor. He got the stock pushed into meme stock land by becoming very vocal on X about how the company is being severely undervalued.
Worth a watch below.
Eyes on Comcast after Paramount-Warner Bros. deal chatter
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) stock is up another 4% in premarket after its 29% surge on Thursday, following news that Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is preparing a bid for the company.
I wouldn’t rule out a potential bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. Good point this morning on this from MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman:
Adobe stock pops after strong outlook suggests AI payoff
Shares in Adobe (ADBE) stepped higher in premarket after the Photoshop maker gave an upbeat revenue forecast for the quarter through November.
The outlook suggested that Adobe is starting to see a payoff from adding AI features to its software tools.
Bloomberg reported:
Read more here.
Gold on track for fourth week of consecutive gains
Gold (GC=F) tracked its trajectory for four weeks of consistent gains as rate-cut bet fervour spread from investors to institutions, with bullion-backed ETFs moving heavily toward the haven asset.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
OpenAI move to for-profit will retain $100 billion for non-profit business arm
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
