Stock futures plunge ahead of final trading day of June

Key economic reports on weekly jobless claims, income & spending for May and core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, could impact trading

U.S. equity futures were trading drastically lower ahead of the final trading day of the first half of the year.

The major futures indexes suggest a drop of more than 1% when trading begins on Wall Street.

This comes the day after the U.S. economy contracted more than expected.

NYSE floor traders

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid / Reuters Photos)

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index edged down 0.1% on Wednesday after data showed the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter amid high inflation and weakening consumer confidence.

Investors are uneasy about signs the biggest global economy might be in a recession due to interest rate hikes imposed to cool surging inflation.

GDP CONTRACTION DEEPENS GIVING FRESH RECESSION CLUES AMID SOARING INFLATION

The 10-year Treasury traded at 3.06%.

Shopping at Target

Cashier hands a customer back change after a transaction at a Target Corp. store in Colma, California. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Traders will be watching key economic reports Thursday morning including jobless claims, income & spending for May and core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

FED NEEDS TO 'ACT DECISIVELY TO KILL INFLATION': BILL ACKMAN

Bitcoin traded below $20,000.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1.4%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.2% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4% after an official monthly gauge of factory activity rose and new orders improved. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 44782 -128.65 -0.29%
SP500 S&P 500 6047.15 +14.77 +0.24%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 19403.947849 +185.78 +0.97%

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped to 3,818.83, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 31,029.31. The Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1% to 11,177.89.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER FIRST ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALE

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude traded around $109 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.98 on Wednesday to $109.78. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, traded around $115 per barrel in London. It shed $1.72 the previous session to $116.26. per barrel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.