Nasdaq futures fall as yields spike on hot inflation report
U.S. stock index futures retreated on Thursday morning after a key inflation report showed a faster-than-expected rise in prices. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell more than 1%, while S&P 500 futures dipped 0.7%. Dow futures were down 100 points, or 0.2%. Thursday’s consumer price index report showed a year-over-year rise of 7.5%, hotter than expected and the largest reading since 1982. Investors were focused on the report as a clue to how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be to curb inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 1.97% after the report, after being at 1.51% at the end of December. “The market didn’t like it,” said Randy Frederick of Charles Schwab, pointing out that the 10-year has been making a run at a 2% yield this week. “Today’s probably the day we’re going to see 2%. “We’ve got discretionary, communications services and tech all lower. That makes sense because every time you get an uptick in interest rates, tech sells off.” Big Tech stocks moved lower after the report, with shares of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft all shedding more than 1%. A solid batch of earnings reports helped to limit the losses for the market on Thursday. Shares of Dow 30 component Disney jumped 7% in premarket trading after the company reported a quarterly earnings beat and a doubling of revenue from its parks, experiences and consumer products division. Uber gained 4.8% in extended trading after reporting a revenue beat and a bounce back from omicron-induced challenges. Elsewhere, Twitter shares also rose premarket, jumping 2.6% after the company announced a $4 billion stock buyback program. Coca-Cola shares were up nearly 1% after the soft drink giant reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates. Expedia, Affirm and Zillow will report earnings after the closing bell. In other economic news, weekly jobless claims came in at 223,000, slightly below expectations. Thursday’s trading moves follow a broad rally on Wednesday. The Nasdaq rose for a second straight day, gaining 2%. Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday as investors awaited the release of U.S. consumer inflation data. Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.17% to 3,485.91 while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.733% to 13,432.07. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.15%, as of its final hour of trading. Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.42% to close at 27,696.08 while the Topix index rose 0.53% to 1,962.61. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.11% on the day to 2,771.93. Oil prices rose on Thursday after rallying on an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories in the previous session, as investors awaited the outcome of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks that could add crude supplies quickly to global markets. Brent crude futures rose 65 cents, or 0.7%, to $92.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.64 a barrel, up 98 cents, or 1.1%. Gold prices were stuck in a tight range on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data that could offer fresh clues about the pace of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,833.99 per ounce by 0424 GMT, trading close to Wednesday’s high of $1,835.60. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,835.40.