U.S. stock futures held largely steady Sunday evening after Wall Street notched weekly gains, as investors cautiously awaited a potential Federal Reserve rate cut bet later in the week.
S&P 500 Futures were unchanged at 6,644.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures were muted at 24,349.0 points by 20:11 ET (00:11 GMT). Dow Jones Futures also traded flat at 45,859.0 points.
US stocks saw record peaks amid Fed easing hopes
Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite all reached record highs, driven by growing market confidence in an impending Fed rate cut.
The S&P 500 gained 1.6% last week, while the Dow rose 1%, and tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2%.
Data released last week showed the U.S. labor market is cooling, strengthening expectations that the Fed will cut rates at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.
Non-farm payrolls rose by only about 22,000 in August, well below forecasts, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3%. Weekly jobless claims climbed to their highest level in nearly four years.
Inflation data pointed to some resilience in consumer prices. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August after a 0.2% gain in July, while annual inflation quickened to 2.9%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, advanced 0.3% on the month and 3.1% year-on-year, roughly in line with expectations.
The slightly hotter CPI reading did little to alter market bets on Fed easing.
Markets are fully pricing in a 25-basis-point cut this week, with slim chances of a larger 50-basis-point move, according to Fed’s CME watch tool.
They now cautiously await the Fed’s updated projections and Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks for clues on the path of monetary policy through the end of the year.
AI optimism boosts Wall Street
Renewed optimism around artificial intelligence added support to equities.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) shares surged last week after the company lifted its cloud infrastructure revenue forecast and announced new large-scale AI contracts, helping drive a rally across technology stocks.
The news reinforced hopes that corporate investment in AI will continue to fuel growth in the sector.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/wall-st-futures-steady-after-weekly-gains-fed-rate-decision-looms-4237861
