Stock market today: Apple and futures edge up, but Reddit set to lose ground after first-day surge

• Stock futures edged higher on Friday as Wall Street cheered surprisingly strong economic data.
• Existing home sales, jobless claims, and leading economic indicators were better than expected.
• Apple rose in premarket trading after slumping on Thursday, while Reddit slid after its IPO surge.

Stocks were set to open higher on Friday as investors welcomed robust economic data, even though it could push back the Federal Reserve's timeline for cutting interest rates.

S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up about 0.1% shortly after 5:45 a.m. ET.

The closely watched 10-year Treasury yield was little moved at 4.25%, while the US Dollar Index jumped 0.9% to 104.4 points.

Investors learned on Thursday that the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index rose by 0.1% in February, marking its first monthly increase in two years. The break in trend reflected gains across manufacturing, stocks, credit, and residential construction.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims dipped to 210,000 last week, upending Wall Street's forecasts of an increase.

Also, the National Association of Realtors revealed that existing home sales jumped 9.5% last month to their highest level in a year as inventories recovered, defying experts' expectations of a decline.

The strong economic data could help to assuage fears of an imminent recession, but it also raises the question of whether the Fed should ease its monetary policy when the situation is so sunny.

"After a whiplash recovery from the pandemic, the economy is normalizing into a more typical pace of economic growth, job growth, and price increases," Bill Adams, Comerica Bank's chief economist, said in an email.

Apple shares inched higher to about $172 in premarket trading, after slumping 4% on Thursday due to fresh regulatory concerns. Reddit stock slid 2.5% to around $49 after surging 48% on its market debut.

Apple "looks like it's carrying the misery of the world on its shoulders these days," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said in a morning note. "It missed the AI rally, it's sued by regulators around the world and China is not playing along."

"The weather conditions are excellent for a first fly, but trading Reddit is suitable for those who love meme stocks," she added.

The companies set to report earnings later include SK Telecom, Boston Omaha, and Caledonia Mining. On the economic front, Fed officials Raphael Bostic and Michael Barr are scheduled to speak.