Futures tied to major U.S. equity benchmarks edged lower early Friday as Wall Street tried to wrap up the week with modest gains.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an opening loss of about 25 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each 0.2% lower. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both eked out record closing highs in the previous session.
Shares of Disney rose more than 1% in early trading after the company reported strong growth in paid streaming subscribers and crushed expectations in its earnings report for its fiscal first quarter of 2021. Disney said it now has almost 95 million paid subscribers on its Disney+ streaming service.
The major averages are on track to post a positive week at record levels, though the strong rally to begin February has taken a slight breather. The blue-chip Dow posted two little changed days this week, while the S&P 500 fluctuated within 0.2% for three days in a row.
“Is the path to much higher equities becoming smaller…to put it differently, are the bulls attempting to thread a needle? Seems that way near term,” Dennis De Busschere, macro research analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a note.
The market ground higher this month as investors remained hopeful for a smooth economic reopening as well as additional Covid stimulus. The Dow has rallied 4.8% in February, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have rallied 5.4% and 7.3% this month.
President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration has secured deals for another 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna and Pfizer, bringing the U.S. total to 600 million. He added the U.S. will have enough supply for 300 million Americans by end of July.
“Between the ongoing medical and economic improvements, markets continue to expect a much better 2021 and that has supported prices,” Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network, said in a note. “Fourth-quarter earnings are coming in well ahead of expectations, and analysts are now adjusting their 2021 earnings estimates upwards.”
— CNBC’s Thomas Franck and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.
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