Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on February 29, 2024.
New York Stock Exchange
Stock futures were little changed on Monday as investors looked to push stocks back to record highs in light of an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 Index up 0.2% Nasdaq 100 Futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures Only up 15 points.
Stocks have just had a strong week, highlighted by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell about an imminent rate cut. Wall Street has been anxiously awaiting a rate cut, especially in light of some worrisome economic data that triggered a sell-off in early August and concerns that rising borrowing costs for investors could hurt the U.S. economy.
But stocks have since rebounded and are now hovering near all-time highs. When the benchmark S&P 500 closed Friday, the broader market index was within 1% of its all-time high set in mid-July. The rebound has extended to the broader market, with the small-cap Russell 2000 index rising 3% after Powell’s comments.
David Russell, head of global market strategy at TradeStation, said, “(Powell’s comments) keep a tailwind for markets heading into the end of the year, making it harder to expect a retest of this month’s lows.”
To be sure, Powell did not indicate when or how much rates might be lowered. However, traders still unanimously predict that the Fed will cut interest rates at its September policy meeting, according to data from CME Group. Fed Watch Tool.
On the economic front, jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by personal consumption expenditures data for July on Friday.
