In after-hours action, Nike shares slipped more than 12% aft...

In after-hours action, Nike shares slipped more than 12% after the athletic retailer cut its full-year guidance. Foot Locker shares declined nearly than 5% in sympathy.

Those moves follow a muted day on Wall Street as investors brace for the release of May’s core personal consumption expenditures price index, known as the PCE, Friday morning. The Dow and S&P 500 each inched higher by around 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.

Considered to be the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the headline PCE reading is expected to be flat from April and higher by 2.6% compared to a year ago. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PCE is forecast to come in 0.1% higher on the month and 2.6% on an annualized basis.

Inflation stats have been considered paramount by markets participants as they try to guess when the Fed will begin cutting interest rates. Traders will also monitor releases on spending, personal income and consumer sentiment due throughout the morning.

Those are some of the final potential market catalysts for the first six months of 2024, which officially concludes with Friday’s closing bell. It is a day full of noteworthy data, as it marks the end of the trading week, month, quarter and half year.