Intel stock spikes after report of possible US government stake
Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Thursday evening after the S&P 500 eked out a fresh record close with marginal moves, while hotter producer inflation tempered hopes for aggressive Federal Reserve easing.
Dow Jones Futures traded 0.4% higher at 45,154.0 points, while S&P 500 Futures were largely unchanged at 6,491.0 points by 20:10 ET (00:10 GMT). Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.2% to 23,891.75 points
Wall St ends flat; Intel shares surge on report of govt stake
In the regular trading session on Thursday, the S&P 500 closed marginally higher but notched another record closing high. The NASDAQ Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed flat.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares closed over 7% higher after Bloomberg reported the Trump administration is discussing taking a stake in the chipmaker to bolster domestic manufacturing and support its delayed Ohio project.
The report comes a week after President Donald Trump publicly urged Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign, calling him conflicted.
PPI tempers jumbo rate cut hopes; more data awaited
Sentiment was capped by July producer price data that ran much hotter than expected.
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.9% month over month, the biggest gain since June 2022, after a flat June. In the twelve months to July, the figure came in at 3.3%, speeding up from 2.4%.
Economists had predicted readings of 0.2% and 2.5%, respectively.
The upside surprise lifted Treasury yields and cooled bets on larger rate cuts.
Rate markets still see a September cut as the base case. However, the probability of a quarter-point move eased from near certainty after the PPI release, while odds of a half-point cut faded.
Markets will now monitor the release of import prices on Friday. Other key data include retail sales, industrial production, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey.
“The Fed will be paying close attention to this, because if import prices don’t start falling soon then that will signal US corporates are fully paying the tariff and then they have the choice of either passing it onto consumers, thus boosting inflation, or absorbing it in profit margins,” ING analysts said in a note.
Deere, Tapestry earnings in focus
In the corporate sector, agricultural equipment maker Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) stock fell nearly 7% after the agricultural machinery giant narrowed its full-year profit guidance amid ongoing market challenges.
Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR) stock slumped more than 15% after the fashion group unveiled income estimates for its current fiscal year that underwhelmed Wall Street expectations.
Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) closed lower despite better-than-anticipated profit in its fiscal third quarter, but it flagged the impact of elevated U.S. tariffs on the European Union.