Futures linked to the main U.S. equity benchmarks were pointing higher ahead of Monday’s opening bell, suggesting Wall Street may attempt an initial rebound after the sharp losses recorded at the end of last week.
Some investors appear ready to step back into the market following Friday’s pullback, which was driven largely by heavy selling in technology stocks. That said, overall activity could remain restrained as traders await several high-impact U.S. economic releases scheduled for later in the week.
Key data due in the coming days include the November employment report and October retail sales figures, both set for release on Tuesday, followed by November consumer price inflation data on Thursday. These reports could shape expectations for the future path of interest rates after the Federal Reserve’s policy decision last Wednesday.
Although the Fed delivered a widely anticipated 25-basis-point rate cut, its updated projections revealed notable disagreement among policymakers over the pace and extent of any further easing.
After a mixed session on Thursday, stocks moved decisively lower on Friday. All three major indices closed in negative territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq suffering the sharpest decline.
By the close, the Nasdaq had dropped 398.69 points, or 1.7%, to 23,195.17, while the S&P 500 fell 73.59 points, or 1.1%, to 6,827.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average proved more resilient, slipping 245.96 points, or 0.5%, to 48,458.05 after briefly hitting a fresh intraday record earlier in the session.
Weekly performance was mixed. The Dow ended the week up 1.1%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.6% and the Nasdaq fell 1.6%.
Friday’s weakness was concentrated in technology shares, underscored by the Nasdaq’s sharp retreat. Broadcom (AVGO) was among the biggest drags on the sector, plunging more than 11% despite reporting better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and issuing optimistic guidance for the current quarter.
Other major technology names also posted sizable losses, including Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), highlighting an ongoing rotation away from tech stocks.
Sentiment may also have been weighed down by remarks from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who explained why he voted against the latest rate cut. In a post on the Chicago Fed’s website, Goolsbee said he was concerned about “too heavily front-loading rate cuts and just assuming that inflation will be transitory.”
“While I voted to lower rates at the September and October meetings, I believe we should have waited to get more data, especially about inflation, before lowering rates further,” he said.
Computer hardware stocks were among the worst-performing groups on Friday, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down 5.2%. Semiconductor and networking stocks also came under heavy pressure, contributing to the Nasdaq’s steep decline.
Outside the technology space, oil services, brokerage firms and steelmakers also weakened, while pharmaceutical stocks showed pockets of relative strength.