Flat Opening Expected for Stock Market

The stock market is prepared to open with mixed numbers for Monday, as traders warily look ahead to inflation numbers to be announced on Wednesday.

Trading may be muted for the sessions today, especially with high numbers from last week that might not carry through. The Dow Jones closed up on Friday by 307 points, up 0.80%.

The S&P 500 was even higher, closing up by 1.11%. Rounding out the top three and closing up as well was the Nasdaq Composite with its gain of 1.24%. Those rosy numbers are not likely to repeat until possibly after the inflation figures are released and traders have a better idea of what the market might be like moving forward.

The US inflation numbers will help the Federal Reserve to determine if interest cuts should be made anytime soon. Analysts anticipate cuts for fall and possibly this summer if the inflation numbers are looking good enough. Lately, we have seen mostly negative movement in inflation, which is causing the Fed to hold back on cuts and offer a wait-and-see response to those asking about rate cuts.

Nasdaq Stock Market Recap

Some of the largest gains from Friday for the stock market were over on the Nasdaq Composite. There, we saw Mediaco Holding (MDIA) jump by 177%. The radio broadcast company benefited from a recent shares update that revealed that its CEO holds about 95% of the company’s shares. This sparked a trading frenzy that has made the stock price jump repeatedly over the last few days.

Also up by a large margin was 22nd Century Group Inc. (XXII), which gained 140%. This follows its earnings report, which was not stellar, but the company revealed that it would be exiting the hemp and cannabis markets to focus on smoking products that contained less nicotine and caused less harm.

Semantix (STIX) shares fell on Friday before closing, dropping 48%. This came on the heels of an announcement that the digital technology company would be voluntarily delisting shares from the stock exchange.