US pre-open: Futures mixed following Dow's record month

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the opening bell on Friday after the blue-cup Dow Jones notched its best month in over a year and traders looked ahead to comments from Fed head Jerome Powell. As of 1230 GMT, Dow futures were up 0.07%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.11% and 0.27% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 520.47 points higher on Thursday as it hit a new high for 2023 and a winning month for stocks drew to a close.

Stocks finished off a record month yesterday, snapping a three-month losing streak for major indices. However, some investors remain cautious going into December and the new year, even as many believe the Federal Reserve to be done raising rates and even looking at cutting them in the first half of 2024. The Fed next meets on 13 December.

With the central bank in mind, Federal Reserve banker Austan Goolsbee will deliver a speech at 1500 GMT, while chairman Jerome Powell will speak at 1600 GMT.

On the macro front, S&P Global's November manufacturing PMI will be published at 1445 GMT, while the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing PMI for last month and October construction spending data will follow at 1500 GMT.

Federal Reserve banker Austan Goolsbee will deliver a speech at 1500 GMT, while chairman Jerome Powell will speak at 1600 GMT.

In the corporate space, Disney shares were higher in pre-market trading after reinstating its dividend, while Ulta Beauty shares surged on the back of solid quarterly results.

Dominion Energy, Gartner and Cardinal Health will all report earnings on Friday.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com