(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, the economic data, and the headline were updated in the story.)
U.S. stock futures dropped on Thursday after closing higher on Wednesday. Futures of all the major benchmark indices were lower.
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit widened to $70.3 billion in December, driven by a decline in exports and a rise in imports. The widening gap comes alongside a resilient labor market, as initial jobless claims for the week ending February 14 dropped to 206,000—falling more than anticipated from the previous week’s revised level.
Traders analyzed the Federal Reserve‘s January meeting minutes, which exposed significant disagreements among officials concerning the future of interest rates.
Although the records indicated that some policymakers discussed possible rate increases to combat persistent inflation, market participants maintained their outlook for two rate reductions before the year concludes.
Additionally, indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. stalled in Geneva psuhing the oil prices higher.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.10%, and the two-year bond was at 3.47%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 94% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in March.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.12% |
| S&P 500 | -0.08% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.08% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.24% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.28% at $684.37, while the QQQ declined 0.41% to $603.30.
Stocks In Focus
DoorDash
- DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) jumped 13.57% in premarket on Thursday despite posting weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, as it expects the first quarter marketplace gross order value (GOV) in a range of $31 billion to $31.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA in a range of $675 million to $775 million.
- DASH maintains a weaker price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a solid growth ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.