US Stock Futures: Low Volatility, Low Volume Ahead of Latest Data on US Weekly Jobless Claims

The major U.S. stock index futures are inching lower in overnight trading as investors take to the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic reports on Weekly Unemployment Claims, Durable Goods, Preliminary GDP and Pending Home Sales. The reports are not expected to jolt the markets unless they are way out of line with the estimates, but they could be used to gauge the pace of the economic recovery.

Futures on the June E-mini S&P 500 Index are down 0.11%. The June E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.06% and the June E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index is off by 0.17%.

After-Hours Activity

Snowflake shares tumbled 3.1% in extended trading after the data-analytics software company reported widening losses.

Nvidia’s stock dipped about 1% in after-hours trading even after the chip giant’s earnings and sales for the first quarter both beat Wall Street expectations. Its revenue grew 88% compared to last year.

Wednesday Summary:  Relatively Quiet Session on Wall Street

U.S. stocks closed out Wednesday’s session with modest gains as recent comments from Federal Reserve officials helped tamp down concerns about runaway inflation and kept bond yields in check.

There were no major U.S. economic releases, but investors will have a slew of reports to deal with on Thursday and Friday, ahead of the long U.S. Memorial Day weekend. After fears of rising inflation sparked volatility in equity markets in recent weeks, all eyes will be on the closely watched monthly U.S. personal consumption report, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, due to be released on Friday.

In other news, a top Federal Reserve official signaled on Wednesday he was ready to open talks on reducing some of the U.S. central bank’s emergency support for the economy, even if only to clarify the Fed’s plans as the economy roars ahead and prices rise.

Stocks on the Move

Amazon ticked 0.19% higher after announcing it is buying MGM, the U.S. movie studio home to the James Bond franchise, for $8.45 billion, giving it a huge library of films and TV shows and ramping up competition with streaming rivals led by Netflix and Disney+.

Drug retailers such as Walgreens, CVS Health and Rite Aid Corp all lost ground after a report Amazon is considering the launch of physical pharmacies in the United States.

Ford Motor Co jumped 8.51% higher after it outlined-plans to boost spending on its electrification efforts by more than a third.

Department store operator Nordstrom Inc dropped 5.78% after reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by price markdowns.