US stock index futures gave up previous gains on mixed signals about the American economy and interest rates dampened investor confidence.
Futures for the S&P 500 index and European equities followed suit with losses on Wednesday, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 declined after the underlying measure closed down 1.5%. New York premarket trading saw a surge in the shares of chipmakers, with Nvidia Corp. jumping more than 2.5% on quarterly sales that blew away estimates. Cisco Systems Inc. rose 4% on a positive revenue forecast, while rivals Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and Intel Corp. also rose.
After falling on Wednesday on signs that the Federal Reserve would tighten monetary policy further, the dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies and 10-year Treasury rates inched higher. One indicator of investor anxiety over the world’s largest economy, the US yield curve, has lingered around levels not seen in four decades.
With inflation only starting to drop after hitting decades-high levels and US retail sales rising at the fastest pace in eight months, Fed speakers say they have farther to go to extinguish price pressures.
Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, has said that pausing rate hikes is “off the table,” and John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has said that the central bank should not take financial stability risks into account.
