Stock Market Today: Dow futures hold just shy of 2024 high as Fed rate cut looms
How are stock-index futures trading:
S&P 500 futures are up 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are adding 0.1%.
Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 0.1%.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235 points, or 0.58%, to 41,097, the S&P 500 increased 42 points, or 0.75%, to 5,596, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 174 points, or 1%, to 17,570.
Futures indicate Wall Street may record a fifth successive day of gains, helped by falling Treasury yields ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected rate cut next week.
“The positive mood has been spurred by an article in the Wall Street Journal that suggests that next week’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision is a fine balance between a 25 basis point and a 50 basis point rate cut,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The prospect of lower U.S. interest rates is softening the dollar, pushing the Japanese yen towards 140 per buck, near its strongest in 13 months, and pushing gold above $2,570 an ounce for the first time. The 10-year Treasury yield is just above its lowest level of the year, around 3.64%.
U.S. economic data due on Friday include the import price index for August at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, followed at 10:00 a.m. by the preliminary reading of September consumer sentiment.