S&P, Dow Futures Slip With Nasdaq’s Rally Set to Snap Ahead Of Powell Speech And PPI Data

US stock futures slid in pre-market trade on Thursday as investors waited for new retail and wholesale inflation data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in the day. 

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.04% lower, S&P 500 futures tumbled 0.5%, and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped around 0.7%, on track to break the six-day winning streak tech stocks have seen since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff truce with China.  

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.05%, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100, dropped 0.7%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) tumbled 0.4% in pre-market trade.

During his tour of the Middle East, President Donald Trump said on Thursday that India has offered to “literally charge us no tariffs” on U.S. goods to help close trade negotiations. India is one of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners and the second-largest Asian Economy. 

He added that he doesn’t want Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook to make iPhones in India. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” he said. “I said to him, ‘my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India.’ I don’t want you building in India.”

Apple’s stock dipped more than 1.3% in pre-market trade.

Meanwhile, Foot Locker (FL) shares surged after the company announced that it plans to merge with Dick’s Sporting Goods for $2.4 billion. Foot Locker’s stock was up more than 83% in pre-market trade and is on track to hit a 6-month high at market open if gains hold.

On the other hand, UnitedHealth (UNH) shares plummeted in pre-market trade after a Wall Street Journal report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is under criminal investigation of possible Medicare fraud. UnitedHealth’s stock was down more than 6%, on track to hit an almost five-year low.

Gold prices (XAUUSD) remained flat in early trading, dipping around 0.03% to trade at $3,170 per ounce. 

Crude oil prices fell more than 3.7% to trade at around $60 a barrel after Trump said that the U.S. is “close to maybe doing a deal” with Iran over its nuclear program. 

On Thursday, markets will listen closely to Powell for clues on monetary policy direction and whether a rate cut might be considered during his speech, scheduled for 8:40 a.m. ET.

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