US stock futures wobbled on Friday, losing steam after a record-setting rally and blowout month as the relief sparked by an influential inflation reading ebbed.
S&P 500 (^GSPC) futures were little changed, coming off the benchmark’s record close and best February in almost a decade. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) also wavered around the flatline.
Stocks are kicking off March in a subdued mood, a shift from the upbeat reaction to PCE data that showed inflation continued to cool — easing worries the Federal Reserve would get more reason to hold off from interest-rate cuts. But further scrutiny has highlighted signs of “sticky” inflation that will be harder to shift.
Among big movers, shares in New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) tumbled 20% in premarket after the exit of its CEO, a $2.7 billion quarterly loss and findings of “material weaknesses” in the bank’s loan processes. Meanwhile, Dell (DELL) shares rose almost 25% in the wake of a quarterly sales and profit beat fueled by AI prospects for its servers.
Developments at OpenAI caught the attention of investors tracking the sector. Elon Musk has sued the Microsoft-backed (MSFT) company and its CEO Sam Altman, among others, over a breach of contract. Also, the ChatGPT maker is reportedly set to name new board members in March to end an impasse linked to Altman’s abrupt firing last year.
