Stock Futures Steady as Traders Anticipate Inflation Data
On Thursday night, stock futures remained mostly unchanged as traders looked ahead to upcoming inflation data, which could provide insights into the Federal Reserve’s interest rate plans.
Futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 19 points, or 0.04%. Meanwhile, S&P futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each saw drops of less than 0.1%.
In the previous session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed slightly higher. However, the Dow finished just below even. The tech-centric Nasdaq marked its eighth gain in nine trading days, bolstered by a 3.4% increase in Meta and a 2.1% rise in Nvidia.
Looking ahead, the November jobs report is set for release following the Federal Reserve’s meeting on December 10, prompting traders to monitor various economic indicators closely.
Earlier, a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed that layoffs surpassed 1 million for the year through November, attributed to corporate restructuring, the rise of artificial intelligence, and tariffs. Interestingly, the latest weekly jobless claims showed new claims had dropped to the lowest level since September 2022, which didn’t dampen market sentiment.
There’s some hope among investors that signs of a cooling labor market could lead the Fed to cut interest rates during its next meeting. Some reports suggest there’s an 87% likelihood of a rate cut next Wednesday, which is a significant increase compared to just a few weeks ago.
Sonali Basak, chief investment strategist at iCapital, mentioned on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” that the data is quite mixed. “Inflation seems to be stalled,” she noted, adding, “2026 is uncertain for inflation. There’s no way to predict; the labor market is currently showing low employment rates, but if that changes, we could face serious challenges next year.”
New economic announcements will come on Friday, including September data on consumer spending and incomes from the Commerce Department, as well as the Fed’s primary inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index. This will be the first PCE report following the significant U.S. government shutdown. Additionally, the University of Michigan will release its consumer survey for December.
This week, stocks have generally continued to make slight gains. The S&P 500 rose by 0.1%, while the Nasdaq climbed nearly 0.6%. The Dow saw an increase of about 0.3%.
