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Contracts linked to major U.S. stock indices slipped Thursday night when Wall Street apparently closed the detailed week on a muted note.
Dow futures lost 34 points, while S&P crossed 500 futures just below the flat line. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 11.75 points, or about 0.1%.
The after-hours occurred after a strong performance of the Nasdaq Composite earlier in the day during the regular session.
The index rose to another record as investors placed a bet on strong technology earnings next week. The tech benchmark climbed 0.6% to close to a new high, thanks to a 3.7% rise in Apple shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both had more muted sessions, with the former 12 points and the latter rising less than 0.1% to hit another new high.
The hope of a robust earnings season of the country’s largest communications and technology stocks has kept the mega-capitalization stocks up during the shortened week and the key indices close to records.
Apple and Facebook rose 7.7% and 8.6%, respectively, before their quarterly results this week, while Microsoft rose 5.8%.
Wall Street’s eyes are still on Washington as new president Joe Biden lays the early foundations for his Covid-19 and economic recovery agenda.
Investors are increasingly confident that a reduced version of Biden’s original $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief bill will be considered by Congress. Some moderate senators have expressed doubts about the need for another bill, especially one with such a price, less than a month after Congress passed a $ 900 billion stimulus in December.
Meanwhile, the Senate on Friday is expected to overwhelmingly confirm former Fed chairman Janet Yellen as Biden’s treasury secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the department.
In corporate news, IBM’s shares fell more than 6% in the extended session after the company reported sales in the fourth quarter among analysts who were expecting. Revenue fell 6% year-on-year, the fourth consecutive quarter of declines.