Futures little changed after S&P 500 hits fresh record

U.S. stock futures were muted in early morning trading on Friday after the S&P 500 notched a fresh record in the regular session.

Dow futures rose just 16 points. S&P 500 futures hovered above the flatline while Nasdaq 100 futures traded in mildly negative territory.

The major averages rose on Thursday, bolstered by gains in technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57 points, helped by a near-2% gain in Apple’s stock.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.42% and closed at a record high for the second day in a row.

The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, gaining more than 1% as Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet all closed higher.

Investors largely shrugged off an unexpected jump in jobless claims from last week. The Labor Department reported first-time claims for the week ended April 3 totaled 744,000, well above the expectation for 694,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

Treasury yields retreated from their recent highs with the 10-year Treasury yield hovering around 1.6%.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called the recovery from the pandemic “uneven” on Thursday, signaling a more robust recovery is needed.

“The recovery remains uneven and incomplete,” Powell said Thursday in a virtual event presented by the International Monetary Fund and moderated by CNBC’s Sara Eisen. “This unevenness that we’re talking about is a very serious issue.”

The major averages are set to end the week higher. The Dow is up nearly 1.6% this week. The S&P 500 has gained more than 1.9% since Monday. The Nasdaq Composite has rallied more than 2.5% heading into Friday.