Stock futures rose on Friday as inflation reports were closely watched and expectations grew that the Federal Reserve would continue to cut interest rates.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each rose 0.2%. Major indexes ended higher on Thursday, driven by gains in semiconductor stocks and big gains in stocks with exposure to the Chinese economy amid stimulus news. Yesterday, the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is about 125 points below its all-time high and the Nasdaq is less than 3% from its all-time high.
U.S. stock markets have rebounded from early September losses as the economy heads for a soft landing and investors remain optimistic the Fed will continue to cut rates after cutting the influential federal funds rate last week for the first time this year. I have recovered. 4 years.
Annual inflation fell to 2.2% in August, according to the personal consumption expenditure index, which the Federal Reserve recommends as a measure of inflation. This was down from 2.5% last month and slightly below economists’ expectations. Inflation would also move closer to the Fed’s 2% annual target, but the Fed is closely monitoring the data to ensure rate cuts do not increase price pressures.
Among the gainers, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) rose 4% in premarket trading after receiving FDA approval for its schizophrenia drug. Costco (COST) fell about 1% after reporting earnings late Thursday as sales were slightly lower than expected.
Large-cap tech stocks, which have been driving the overall market rally, rose across the board. NVIDIA (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Metaplatform (META), and Alphabet (GOOGL), which are popular with AI investors, all rose slightly.
Shares of Chinese companies traded in the United States were also rising ahead of the opening bell. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) rose about 1%, led by gains in conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding (BABA), online marketplace Temu’s parent company PDD Holdings (PDD), and online retail giant Jingtocom (JD). Shares of Chinese companies and other companies with significant exposure to China rose this week as authorities introduced a wide range of stimulus measures to boost the country’s economy.
Gold futures rose slightly above $2,700 an ounce for the first time yesterday before falling slightly to around $2,690 an ounce. Oil futures were little changed, and Bitcoin was trading near $65,500.
