Stock futures are flat on Thursday evening

Stock futures are flat on Thursday evening

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, December 7, 2022.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Stock futures were flat in overnight trading Thursday.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures all traded flat.

The overnight moves followed another down session for markets as December’s selloff resumed and hopes for a Santa Claus rally faded. The Dow tumbled 348.99 points, or 1.05%, but finished well off its 803-point low. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dove 1.45% and 2.18%, respectively.

Tech stocks were among the loss leaders, with shares of semiconductor stocks slumping on demand concerns from Micron Technology. Tesla also shed nearly 9% on fears of dwindling demand. All major S&P 500 sectors also finished lower, led to the downside by consumer discretionary.

Those moves came as concerns of a recession resurged, dashing some investors’ hope for a year-end rally. Investors worry that overtightening from central banks worldwide could force the economy into a downturn.

“From a broader market and economic perspective, nothing’s different next year,” Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Thursday, noting that questions will linger over how far the Fed will hike. “The trend is still the trend that remains in place.”

With the end of 2022 around the corner, stocks are also poised to end three years of gains and post their worst yearly performance since 2008. For December, all major averages are on pace to snap two consecutive months of wins, with the Dow down 4.5%. The S&P and Nasdaq have tumbled 6.3% and about 8.7%, respectively.

Investors await more economic data due out Friday, including November’s personal consumption expenditure report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation — and personal income. New home sales and December consumer sentiment index are also slated for release.

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