Investors were also waiting for the official job report for March, which the Ministry of Labor will publish at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Dow futures gained 91 points or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3% to start the first session of the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Thursday to close the first negative quarter for equities in two years, with losses accelerating in the last hour of trading. The Dow fell 550.46 points or 1.56% to 34,678.35. The S&P 500 was down 1.57% at 4,530.41 points and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.54% at 14,220.52 points. All three major averages recorded their worst quarters since March 2020. The Dow and S&P 500 fell 4.6% and 4.9% respectively during the period and the Nasdaq fell more than 9%. Shares returned at the end of the quarter in March, but fell sharply in the first half of the year after falling sharply from rising interest rates and inflation. Shares are currently shaking off a recession from the bond market triggered by Thursday’s closing bell. Yields on the 2-year and 10-year bonds were reversed for the first time since 2019. For some investors, it is a signal that the economy is heading for a possible recession, although the inverted yield curve does not predict exactly when it will happen and history shows that it can be more than a year or more away. “I think everyone should recognize that we are obviously moving into a slower economic environment,” Shannon Saccocia, Boston Private Wealth Investment Manager, told CNBC’s Closing Bell. “You have to grow profits from somewhere, and if it’s not going to be a cosmopolitan wind, like budget spending and monetary easing, then you have to look elsewhere. I think we’re going to see some real nuance in trading during over the next three months or so, as people seek this growth in this most difficult economic environment. “ A strong job report on Friday could give the Fed more confidence to maintain its aggressive interest rate hike this year to stifle inflation without fear of slowing the economy too much. Economists expect about 490,000 jobs to be added in March, according to a Dow Jones consensus estimate, after adding 678,000 payroll in February. Unemployment is expected to fall to 3.7% from 3.8%, according to the Dow Jones. GameStop rallied more than 10% in extended trading following the announcement of video game retailer and stock meme intentions to split. Energy prices fell on Thursday after the White House announced it would release an unprecedented amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Up to 1 million barrels of oil per day will be released over the next six months. Other key indicators to look out for are the ISM production index and the construction cost report, both of which will be published at 10 p.m. ET on Friday.
