Stock futures are little changed as traders weigh risk of rate hikes

Stock futures were little changed Friday morning.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 66 points, or 0.19%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.17% and 0.25% respectively.

In after-hours action, shares of e-signature stock DocuSign rose more than 3% after the company beat second-quarter estimates on the top and bottom lines and posted rosy third-quarter guidance. RH dropped more than 7% as the home furnishings company reported soft guidance for third-quarter revenue.

In regular trading Thursday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered a fourth consecutive day of declines, slumping nearly 0.9%. The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, falling a third day. The 30-stock Dow was the outlier, rising by about 0.2%, or 57.54 points.

Renewed fears over more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve were further justified as initial jobless claims came in at 216,000 — lower than the 230,000 anticipated by economists polled by Dow Jones. Investors are calling for roughly 1 in 2 odds that policy makers will raise rates in November as of Thursday night, per the CME Fed Watch tool.

“August was a difficult month, with weak data, and September may be the same,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network. ”Beyond that, though, the prospects remain good. Any recession is likely some time away, which should keep markets healthy.”

The three major indexes are on pace for weekly losses, with the S&P 500 down 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite off by 2%. It will be the first negative week in three for the two indexes. The Dow is tracking for a nearly 1% loss on the week.

This report’s information was first seen on CNBC; to read more, click this link.