By Shashwat Chauhan and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
Sept 30 (Reuters) – US stock index futures fell in choppy trading on Wednesday, as heavyweight technology stocks eased ahead of a key inflation report and GDP data that could help shape market expectations for the Federal Reserve’s rate path.
Despite seeing weakness in September, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on pace for a second straight quarterly gain, as of last close.
The price-weighted Dow differed, with the index of 30 blue-chip US companies set for a quarterly fall and on track for its first monthly decline since March.
Most megacap and growth stocks edged lower in premarket trading, with Amazon.com, Tesla and Apple all down.
Chip stocks were also broadly lower. Intel, AMD and Broadcom inched down.
A reading of the August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) – which is closely watched by the Fed – is expected to show annual inflation stood at 3.7%, per economists polled by Reuters.
Money market data showed traders are nearly evenly split between the chance of an October interest rate hike, down from a more than 70% chance of a hike seen a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“If (inflation) comes in much hotter than expected, the Fed would almost be forced to hike again in October,” said Tracy Shuchart, senior economist at NinjaTrader.
“Inflationary pressures, particularly from the oil market, weighed on the quarter as far as the data was concerned.”
The final reading of second-quarter GDP and comments from at least four Fed officials including Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are also due later in the day.
At 07:20 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 104 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 11.5 points, or 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 97.75 points, or 0.32%.
CHOPPY SEPTEMBER COMING TO A CLOSE
September was marred with immense volatility in the bond markets and elevated crude oil prices due to the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, igniting inflation concerns and hitting risk assets worldwide.
On Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond stood at 5.236%, close to its highest since June 2007 hit in the previous session. Crude oil prices rose on the day, with the December contract for Brent crude futures moving higher.
Warnings from leaders of the biggest AI companies earlier this month about the potential existential risks from the technology had also rattled the AI trade, which has been the dominant factor behind Wall Street’s rise to record highs this year.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms was the standout performer this month thanks to the popularity of its consumer-focused Muse AI agent, with the stock set for a near 30% jump in September. Shares were down 0.4% on Wednesday.
The next test of the AI trade could be memory-chip giant Micron Technology’s earnings due after the bell.
Among the early movers, Boeing climbed 2.1% after the Pentagon said the plane maker has been selected to build the US Navy’s next-generation stealth fighter.
Boeing beat out rival Northrop Grumman for the development contract, worth $20 billion. Northrop shares were down 3.5%.
Robinhood Markets gained 2.2% after the online brokerage said it will let users trade some US stocks round-the-clock during weekends.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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