S&P 500 futures inch lower after index posts longest win streak in 2 years: Live updates

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 20, 2023.

Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

S&P 500 futures slid modestly Wednesday night following a session in which the broad index added to its longest winning streak since November 2021.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each shed about 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 22 points, or 0.1%.

In after-hours trading, Disney rose nearly 3% after reporting better-than-expected profit. On the other hand, Lyft dropped nearly 2% after bookings came in worse than anticipated and the rideshare platform said it would continue to struggle on the measure in the current quarter.

The moves follow a muted but momentous day on Wall Street. While the S&P 500 finished up just 0.1%, it marked the longest winning streak since 2021 at eight days. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up by 0.08%, eking out a ninth winning day for its lengthiest stretch of positive sessions in two years. The Dow finished down by about 0.1%, snapped a seven-day run of gains.

But despite the S&P 500's winning streak, the market still has narrow leadership, according to Robert Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Technology stocks have also continued to outperform as investors assess the interest rate environment, he said.

"It's a market that appears to be thinking that higher rates are going to be with us for longer," Haworth said. "It's really bifurcated."

Investors will watch Thursday for morning data on jobless claims. Traders will also follow remarks from a slate of Federal Reserve officials — including chair Jerome Powell — expected over the course of the day.

Large-cap active fund managers outperformed in October, Bank of America says

Stocks suffered in October, but large-cap active funds managed to deliver a strong performance, according to Bank of America's Savita Subramanian.

Last month, 68% of large cap active managers beat their benchmark, the firm's head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy said in a recent report. The average fund beat its benchmark by 34 basis points, she said.

To put things into perspective, the S&P 500 dropped 2.2% in October and the Russell 1000 shed 2.5%, capping a three-month stretch of losses as bond yields popped and stocks swooned.

Funds' focus on large cap names helped them manage last month. "Cracks started to form within the Magnificent 7, but the largest quintile of the Russell 1000 outperformed the smallest quintile by 5 [percentage points] (-1.7% vs. -6.7%)," Subramanian said.

-Darla Mercado, Michael Bloom

Nasdaq Composite on track to end week up more than 1%

With Wednesday's session finished, the trading week is more than halfway done. All three of the major indexes are on track for winning weeks, but some have far more narrow gains than others.

Here's where the three major indexes stand on the week:

The Dow has gained 0.2%.
The S&P 500 has added 0.6%.
The Nasdaq Composite has climbed 1.3%.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading on Wednesday:

Disney — Shares climbed more than 3% after the media giant exceeded expectations of analysts polled by LSEG for profit in the fiscal fourth quarter. Disney+ subscriber numbers also came in strong.
Arm — Shares dropped around 7% as investors focused in on weak guidance from the semiconductor company.
Lyft — The rideshare platform slipped nearly 2% after reporting worse-than-anticipated bookings and offering weak current-quarter guidance on the measure.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring