U.S. stock futures bounced on Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 300 points on Tuesday, the latest in a string of bad trading sessions this September.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures Tuesday ticked about 80 points higher, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%
Markets have been in a funk so far this month amid rising investor worries about the delta variant derailing the economic recovery and the next action by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow, S&P 500 and the small-cap Russell 2000 index have been in the red for six of the last seven days. Tuesday marked the fifth straight day of losses for the Nasdaq. For September, the Dow is off by more than 2% and the S&P 500 is off 1.8%.
“Despite concerns about the recent downshift in economic and business cycle momentum, we remain confident that strong growth lies ahead and activity is bound to re-accelerate,” wrote JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, in a note Wednesday. “We remain positive on the equity outlook, and expect S&P 500 to reach 4,700 by end of this year and surpass 5,000 next year on better than expected earnings.”
Microsoft shares gained 1% in premarket trading after announcing a dividend increase and a sizable $60 billion share repurchase program.
Energy stocks, which have been popular bets among investors banking on a big economic recovery, gained in premarket trading as WTI crude topped $71. Exxon added 1%.
Apple shares rebounded in premarket trading after the shares fell Tuesday amid the unveiling of a new iPhone and other products.
In regular trading Tuesday, the Dow fell 292.06 points, or 0.8%, to 34,577.57, retreating after it snapped a five-day losing streak on Monday. The S&P 500 lost 0.6% to finish at 4,443.05 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5% to 15,037.76.
September has historically been a down month for the markets, which have seen an average decline of 0.56% in the month since 1945, according to CFRA. And after eight months of straight gains, strategists say a major pullback could be imminent.
The S&P 500 has continued to move higher throughout the year, dipping below the 50-day moving average only once, according to Fundstrat. Mike Wilson, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley, told CNBC’s “Fast Money” that could be just the beginning.
“The midcycle transition always ends with a correction in the index,” he said of the S&P 500. “Maybe it’ll be this week, maybe a month from now. I don’t think we’ll get done with this year, however, with that 50-day moving average holding up throughout the year because that’s the pattern we typically see in this part of the recovery phase.”
On Tuesday the Labor Department released data before the bell showing a smaller-than-expected rise in U.S. inflation for the month of August. Consumer prices rose 5.3% from a year ago and 0.3% from July. Stripping out food and energy, the consumer price index was up just 0.1% for the month.
Initially, markets rallied but turned back down after the market open as uncertainty about the timing of the Federal Reserve’s tapering of asset purchases settled in.
Casino stocks took a big hit Tuesday as the government of Macau looks to increase regulatory scrutiny over casinos and Chinese health authorities reported a Covid-19 outbreak. Las Vegas Sands fell 9.7%, Wynn Resorts dropped 10.8% and MGM resorts lost 3.9%.
Those shares were in the red again in Wednesday premarket trading.
