Stock futures rise after September slump

Stock futures opened slightly higher on Thursday night after falling during the regular session, with stocks ending a volatile month in the red.

The S&P 500 ended a seven-month winning streak in September, dropping about 4.8% monthly. The Dow ended September lower at 4.4%. The Nasdaq underperformed, losing 5.4% amid a broad rotation away from growth and technology stocks as expectations for higher inflation and higher interest rates held.

“When I look at my ‘what am I afraid of’ list today, there are a lot of things on that list,” Scott Wrenn, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday. We don’t really think earnings will be such a mystery or concern to the market. We know we will come out with reasonable earnings growth this year. the overriding theme of: are we getting embedded inflation? What can the Fed do about it? Will the Fed Stay Easy? “Things like that… I think those are the biggest concerns.”

“We’ve had such a big run in the market that to have a 5% pullback or something off the top after the market basically doubles in 15 months, I think you have to put this in context ,” he added. . “And while there are a lot of things to worry about, many of them have a very low chance of causing a lot of problems for the market in the long run.”

As of Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 was still up about 15% for the year to date, supported by outperformance in the cyclical energy and financial sectors that could benefit from rising commodity prices and interest rates. On Friday, investors will receive the latest releases on personal consumer spending (PCE), which serves as the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation.

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Heading into October, some strategists are bracing for more stock market jerkiness, with more monetary and fiscal policy developments against what many believe will be a backdrop of moderating economic growth and corporate earnings.

“I think the pace of gains will just slow down. I guess that’s not too surprising, considering that in Q2 we thought COVID was almost over, and then Delta put a dent in that. kind of upset,” Shawn Snyder, chief of investment strategy at Citi US Wealth Management, told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday. “In addition, in September, there was a big confluence of events. We now have the run-down of the Fed. We have the ongoing DC drama and all that stuff that just kind of causes weakness in the stock markets.”

6:15 PM ET Thursday: Stock Futures Rising, Stabilizing After September Drop

These were the main moves in the markets as of Thursday evening:

• S&P 500 futures (ES = F): +5.75 points (+0.13%), to 4.303.50

• Dow futures (YM=F): +40 points (+0.12%), up to 34,762.00

• Nasdaq futures (NQ = F): +23.25 points (+0.16%) to 14,705.75

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter