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Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on March 27, 2025.
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U.S. stock futures inched higher early Friday as investors grappled with ongoing tariff uncertainty and awaited the release of a key inflation measure.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 44 points, or 0.10%. S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures traded flat.
In extended trading, Lululemon shares tumbled 10% after the athleisure company issued a weaker-than-expected outlook for the first quarter and 2025.
Wall Street is coming off a losing session for the major averages. On Thursday, the 30-stock Dow fell about 155 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 slid 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5%.
Those moves come after President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on "all cars that are not made in the United States," the latest tariff development to roil the market. Investors — concerned that rising signs of weakening consumer sentiment are heightening the risk of a slowdown — are hoping April 2 will bring some much-needed clarity.
"I don't expect that market volatility is going to calm until we have more policy [certainty]. And a lot of us are looking to see if we get that next week," New York Life Investments' chief market strategist Lauren Goodwin said on CNBC on Thursday. "I'm not really seeing it. I anticipate that this volatility is here to stay with us."
On the economic front, February's personal consumption expenditures price index due Friday could confirm whether investors should be concerned about sticky inflation, especially after the Federal Reserve recently raised its inflation forecast. Economists polled by Dow Jones see the headline PCE price index reading rising 0.3% in February and 2.5% from 12 months earlier.
As of Thursday's close, Wall Street was headed for a second straight week of gains. The Dow is on track for a 0.8% advance week to date. The S&P 500 is up 0.5% for the period, while the Nasdaq Composite is on pace for a 0.1% gain.
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The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure is due out Friday
February's personal consumption expenditures price index is expected to a show a 0.3% increase last month, and a 2.5% rise from 12 months earlier, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
The PCE price index reading is due out Friday morning.
— Sarah Min
The odds of a V-shaped recovery after April 2 is 'extremely high,' Fundstrat's Tom Lee says
Stocks could stage a major comeback after April 2, much as they did in 2018 when investors last sought clarity on the tariff front from President Donald Trump, according to Fundstrat's Tom Lee.
"The odds of a V-shaped recovery in stocks that come after April 2 is just extremely high, because we've already sequenced a lot of the panic that people saw in 2018," Lee said Thursday on CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime."
If that's the case, Lee expects the Magnificent Seven stocks could outperform. As an example, he noted the recent recovery in Tesla, which is up nearly 10% this week after coming under pressure this year from CEO Elon Musk's involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The electric vehicle stock is still off by 32% in 2025.
"I think if Tesla is leading us into this balance, that's a bold case for Mag Seven to be the group to own in the next few months," Lee said.
— Sarah Min
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
Here are the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading.
Lululemon — Shares tumbled 10% after the athleisure company issued a weaker-than-expected first-quarter outlook, even as fourth-quarter earnings and revenue topped analysts' expectations. Lululemon forecasts first-quarter earnings in a range of $2.53 to $2.58 per share, compared to the $2.72 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. First-quarter revenue of $2.335 billion to $2.355 billion was also lower than the $2.39 billion consensus estimate.
Braze — Shares surged about 9% after the customer engagement platform posted fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations. Braze posted adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share, topping the FactSet consensus estimate of 5 cents earnings per share. Revenue of $160.4 million also exceeded the $155.7 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
— Sarah Min
English (US)