U.S. stock futures were mixed on Friday as investors took a breather following another record-breaking session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 pushed above the 7,800 mark on Thursday, reaching an intraday record of 7,816.70 before closing at an all-time high. Early Friday trading remained cautious, with Nasdaq-100 futures edging higher while Dow futures slipped.
The latest rally has put the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on track for their third straight weekly gains. The S&P 500 was up about 0.5% for the week heading into Friday, while the Nasdaq had gained 0.4%. The Dow, however, remained under pressure, down roughly 0.4% for the week. Technology and communication services stocks were among Thursday’s strongest performers, each gaining around 1%.
Investor interest was also boosted by individual stocks, with Reddit shares jumping nearly 13% in premarket trading after news that the company is set to join the S&P 500 on August 18. Meanwhile, strong corporate earnings continue to support the broader market. With more than 90% of S&P 500 companies reporting second-quarter results, earnings growth is tracking at around 50% compared with the same period last year, according to FactSet.
The strength has also returned to parts of the software sector, which suffered a sharp sell-off earlier in the year. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has climbed about 28% over the past six months after falling more than 24% in the first quarter. Analysts say investors appear increasingly confident that corporate earnings can support the market’s recent momentum, although concerns about valuations and future risks remain.
Global markets were mixed as investors looked toward the next major economic signal from the United States. European stocks traded mostly lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi posted gains. In the U.S., attention is now turning to July retail sales data, due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists expect sales to have increased by 0.1% from the previous month, giving investors another clue about the strength of the U.S. economy and what could come next for financial markets.
source: cnbc
