Stock futures mixed
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday morning as traders await testimony from Federal Chairman Jerome Powell in the House later today.
As of 5:20 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow tumbled 108 points, or 0.35% to 30,363. S&P 500 futures shed 6.25 points, or 0.17% to 3,756.5 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were up 20.75 points, or 0.18% to 11,586.5.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 47.12 points, or 0.15% to close at 30,483.13. The S&P 500 fell 4.9 points, or 0.13% to finish at 3,759.89 while the Nasdaq Composite gave away 16.22 points, or 0.15% to end 11,053.08.
Powell says Fed strongly committed to fight inflation
Traders are looking ahead to potential news out of the Federal Reserve when Powell appears before the House Financial Services Committee later in the day.
Traders will look for further clues on the trajectory of interest rate hikes after the Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) last week — the Fed’s biggest rate hike since 1994.
In the first session of his two-day Congressional testimony on Wednesday, Powell told lawmakers that the Fed is “strongly committed” to combating U.S. inflation rate, which stood at 8.6% last month, down to 2%.
“My colleagues and I are acutely aware that high inflation imposes significant hardship, especially on those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation,” Powell said.
“We are highly attentive to the risks high inflation poses to both sides of our mandate, and we are strongly committed to returning inflation to our 2% objective,” he added.
Meme stock Revlon surges after filing for bankruptcy
Meanwhile, shares of Revlon (REV) extended their gains on Wednesday just days after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The stock has gained more than 400% since its lows on June 14 as retail traders continue to show interest in the company.
According to data compiled by Vanda Research, retail traders have put roughly $18 million in the stock over the past week. Retail traders bought $8.3 million worth of the stock Tuesday, the highest ever recorded for the troubled cosmetics giant.
Revlon shares rocketed 34.32% to end Tuesday’s regular session at $8.14 apiece. The stock was little-changed in the premarket trading session on Wednesday.