Stock futures are flat as S&P 500 tracks for worst first half of the year since 1970

cnbc.com:

U.S. stock index futures were flat during overnight trading Wednesday, as the S&P 500 prepares to wrap its worst first half in decades.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.07%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

During regular trading the Dow advanced 82 points, or 0.27%, for the first positive day in three. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted a third straight negative day, declining 0.07% and 0.03%, respectively.

The Dow and S&P 500 are on track for their worst three-month period since the first quarter of 2020 when Covid lockdowns sent stocks tumbling. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is down more than 20% over the last three months, its worst stretch since 2008.

The S&P 500 is also on track for its worst first half of the year since 1970, as myriad factors pressure markets.

«Surging inflation, the pivot in Fed policy, and historically pricey equity valuations were on the minds of investors as the year began,» noted John Lynch, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management.

"[T]he combination of COVID-19 lockdowns in China and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has escalated volatility further with investors becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of [a] global recession sometime within the next year," he added.

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The Federal Reserve has taken aggressive action to try and bring down rampant inflation, which has surged to a 40-year high.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester told CNBC that