Stock futures are trading sideways because the S&P 500 is just below the record

Stock futures opened flat Thursday night to slightly higher, following a mixed session earlier, with tech shares leading the Nasdaq to back-to-back sessions of progress, while the S&P 500 and Dow declined.

Shares of Apple (AAPL) edge lower late trading after rising to a record high earlier Thursday. Bloomberg reported that the iPhone maker is preparing to release a new subscription bundle, which would include a package of its services such as Apple Music and Apple TV + in a bid to unlock a new recurring revenue stream. Meanwhile, Epic Games sued Apple after its “Fortnite” game was removed from the App Store, after the developer created an in-app payment system to bypass the App Store and prevent Apple from charging its regular 30% commission on in-app purchases. collected.

Elsewhere, market participants continued to deepen through Thursday’s estimate-topping weekly reports on unemployment claims, showing the first dip below 1 million in new weekly claims for unemployment insurance since the start of the pandemic. The reading, although it reflects an improvement relative to the worst points of the pandemic period, may also ease some pressure from lawmakers to quickly pass a new round of stimulus legislation, some analysts warned.

The U.S. Senate was adjourned Thursday for the August recession without passing a new bill for Covid because a stalemate between key negotiators showed no signs of slowing down. Senators and members of the U.S. House of Representatives are not scheduled to return to Washington until after Labor Day, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said senators would be given at least 24 hours notice to return when negotiators met about a deal and planning a vote in the interim.

Investors will receive a few more reports on the state of the U.S. consumer on Friday. The Commerce Department’s retail sales report Friday morning is expected to show a reduced monthly profit of 2.0%, down from a 7.5% increase in June, as a recovery from the April historical decline is slower. The University of Michigan’s preliminary Surveys of Consumers report is expected later in the morning that consumer sentiment will widen its decline from July, with concerns about an end in federal improved unemployment insurance and other incentives that weigh.

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6:03 pm ET Thursday: Stock futures trade slightly higher

Here were the key movements in stock markets, starting at 6:03 pm ET:

• S&P 500 futures (ES = F): 3,371.00, up 3.25 points, as 0.1%

• Dow futures (YM = F): 27,842.00, 19 points higher, if 0.07%

• Nasdaq futures (NQ = F): 11,187.5, up 12.25 points, or 0.11%

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