Stock futures dipped on Thursday evening as investors geared up for the S&P 500 to potentially slide into official bear market territory.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% or 68 points. S&P 500 futures lost 0.2% and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.3%.

Continue reading Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Dow bounced off their intraday lows but still fell 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. The S&P closed down more than 18% from its all-time high, and will be in an official bear market if that loss deepens to 20%. Six consecutive trading sessions have seen the Dow decline.

While the Nasdaq managed to gain less than 0.1%, tech-heavy Index is now in bear market. It’s down 29% more from its peak.

Since late 2013, the stock market has been in decline. The slump started with low-growth, unprofitable tech stocks and has since spread to stocks with strong cash flows stocks. The stock market fell on Thursday Apple fell into a bear marketit was the final of the Big Tech companies to be sold.

This decline has erased much of the stock’s rapid gains from their March 2020 pandemic lows.

For bubble identification, “large deviations in long-term prices trends were used. Citi strategist Dirk Willer wrote in a note Thursday to clients that US stocks have been in bubbles based upon this metric.

High inflation is one reason stocks have suffered in recent months. The Federal Reserve has attempted to control prices by increasing rates. NPR’s Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, said that on Thursday he couldn’t guarantee a “soft landingThis brought down the inflation, but not a recession.

Although stocks experienced a 2-week rally following the Fed’s March rate hike, the gains were quickly reversed by an April storm and subsequent selling. However, there are indicators, like investor sentiment surveys, and some stabilization this week in the Treasury market, that suggest the market might be close, however many strategists, investors, and traders believe the market needs to take another substantial step down.

You’re getting a market that is desperate for a bottom and a rally of relief. Andrew Smith is chief investment strategist for Delos Capital Advisors.

Developments in cryptocurrenciesWall Street was also shaken this week by bitcoin’s plunge to $30,000, and the struggles of stablecoins to keep their peg.

Friday’s economic data features include an update on April’s import prices as well as an earlier look at May’s consumer confidence.