US stock futures were steady on Wednesday after the S&P 500 wrapped up another all-time high, as investors shrugged off sticky inflation data to focus on fresh economic updates ahead.
Futures on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered just above the flatline on the heels of Tuesday’s sharp across-the-board gains. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) were also little changed.
Stocks rallied amid continued optimism that the Federal Reserve will start to cut interest rates within months despite February’s hotter-than-estimated reading on core consumer inflation.
That alone could prompt policymakers to stay cautious about easing up on borrowing costs when the Fed holds its monthly policy meeting next week. But with the US economy outstripping Wall Street’s forecasts, investors are keeping their hopes warm until they get wholesale inflation and retail sales data on Thursday.
On the crypto front, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was changing hands at around $73,290, continuing a rally that has lifted its price almost 75% this year so far.
In corporates, DollarTree’s (DLTR) shares sank 8% in premarket trading after it swung to a quarterly loss. The discount retailer said it plans to close nearly 1,000 stores and will take a charge of over $1 billion.
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Dividends!
It makes my day to see good old-fashioned dividends back en vogue amongst companies (I am not a stock buyback fan).
Corporate dividends globally reached an all-time high of $1.66 trillion in 2023, according to a new report from Janus Henderson today. That marked a 5% year-over-year increase.
The number could be even meatier in 2024 amid the first-ever dividend payouts from Meta (META) and Salesforce (CRM).
Playing around with Yahoo Finance data provides a look at some of the cash-rich, well-known companies that are both great dividend payers AND growers.
On the prowl for dividends. (Yahoo Finance)
