US stock futures showed signs of hesitation on Friday, losing momentum following a record-setting rally and a strong month. S&P 500 futures remained largely unchanged after the benchmark index achieved its best February performance in nearly a decade. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also fluctuated around the flatline.
The market sentiment at the start of March appeared subdued, in contrast to the positive reaction to the recent Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, which indicated a continued cooling of inflation. This eased concerns about potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. However, closer examination has revealed signs of “sticky” inflation that may be more challenging to address.
In premarket trading, shares of New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) experienced a 20% decline following the departure of its CEO, a quarterly loss of $2.7 billion, and the discovery of “material weaknesses” in the bank’s loan processes. Conversely, Dell (DELL) shares rose by nearly 25% after reporting better-than-expected sales and profits, driven by the prospects of artificial intelligence (AI) for its servers.
Investors also took note of recent developments at OpenAI. Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed company, its CEO Sam Altman, and others, alleging a breach of contract. Additionally, OpenAI is reportedly planning to appoint new board members in March to resolve an impasse related to Altman’s sudden termination last year.
