Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remains bullish on the S&P 500, even as macro risks linger.
- Geopolitical tensions, questions around Federal Reserve independence, and selective earnings reactions remain key sentiment drivers.
- Sentiment around the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) cooled to neutral from bullish a day earlier on Stocktwits, alongside elevated message volumes.
U.S. stock futures were trading higher early Friday, with markets looking to build on the gains in the previous session. The geopolitical risks in Iran and Greenland, along with chatter about perceived threats to Fed independence, will weigh on market sentiment ahead of a long weekend. U.S. markets will be shut on Monday.
As of 4:15 a.m. ET on Thursday, the S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4%, while the Dow futures were up 0.1%, and Russell 2000 futures traded 0.3% higher.
On Stocktwits, meanwhile, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has remained ‘bullish’. While sentiment toward the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, has moved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ a day ago, amid high message volumes.
Trending Stocks To Watch
J.B. Hunt (JBHT): Tumbled in after-hours trading after missing earnings estimates, citing a continued ‘freight recession’ in the US.
Micron (MU): The stock is back on retail radar, driven by an insider purchase and bullish analyst actions.
Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA): Cathie Wood’s ARK exchange-traded funds only made one trade on Thursday: buying more of Intellia Therapeutics, whose shares are heading for their best week since October.
AST Spacemobile (ASTS): The stock is garnering retail attention, driven by buzz around a ‘Golden Dome’ defense order. It is on track for third straight weekly close.
Watch out for hyperscalers such as Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOGL): Reports suggest that Trump and several Northeast governors are pushing PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator, to run an emergency ‘reliability’ auction that would let companies bid for 15-year contracts tied to building new generation.
Talen Energy (TLN): The stock rallied on Thursday after it said it will acquire Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM) natural gas assets from Energy Capital Partners.
Walmart, Inc (WMT): Kathryn McLay, the CEO of the retailer’s international business, is stepping down from her role at the end of this month.
Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Springview Holdings (SPHL), Regentis Biomaterial (RGNT), Reddit (RDDT), Sandish (SNDK), and Super Micro Computer (SMCI), among others.
Other Catalysts To Watch
On the economic front, no notable release is expected. Investors will be watching commentary from a few Fed speakers, including Michele Bowman, later today.
On the earnings radar, investors will also be watching for the quarterly report from PNC Financial (PNC), State Street (STT), M&T Bank (MTB), Citizens Financial (CFG), and Regions Financial (RF).
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