Stock futures were flat in overnight trading Sunday after the major averages posted their second straight week of losses for the first time since September. Investors also struggled to shake off recession fears.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.05% and 0.07%, respectively.
The overnight moves followed another down week for stocks after the Federal Reserve delivered a 50 basis point short-term interest rate hike and signaled higher-for-longer rates. Recession fears mounted as the central bank upped its forecast for future hikes above previous expectations, saying that it now expects to hike rates to 5.1%.
On Friday, the Dow fell 281.76 points, or 0.85%. The 30-stock index shed 1.66% for the week, bringing its monthly losses to 4.83%. The S&P 500 dropped 1.11% and tumbled 2.08% for the week, upping its monthly declines to 5.58%. The Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.97% on Friday and 2.72% for the week. It’s down 6.65% this month.
“Monetary policy has quickly gotten restrictive now that the Fed has raised rates by 400 basis points in 9 months,” wrote Ed Moya, senior market strategist at Oanda in a note to a client Friday. “Recession risks will only grow now that [Fed chair Jerome Powell] has signaled that we should expect ‘ongoing increases.’”
Earnings season continues this week with reports from Nike and FedEx on Tuesday. The National Association of Home Builders survey, which gauges monthly sentiment, is due out Monday.