U.S. shares were set to drift lower today, with Dow futures down 0.3% at 37,429.00 and S&P 500 futures dipping 0.5% to 4,775.25, according to the Associated Press.
Companies across the S&P 500 are likely to report more meager growth in profits — if any — for the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. Earnings have been under pressure for more than a year because of rising costs amid high inflation.
Optimism is higher for 2024, however, where analysts are forecasting a strong 11.8% growth in earnings per share for S&P 500 companies, according to FactSet. That, plus expectations for several cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year, have helped the S&P 500 rally to 10 winning weeks in the last 11. The index remains within 0.6% of its all-time high set two years ago.
For now, traders are penciling in many more cuts to rates through 2024 than the Fed itself has indicated. That raises the potential for big market swings around each speech by a Fed official or economic report.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 56 cents to $71.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 51 cents to $77.78 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 147.86 Japanese yen from 147.09 yen.
