US stock futures steady as elections, Fed meeting loom

U.S. stock index futures rose slightly in evening deals on Monday, regaining some ground after Wall Street clocked steep losses in recent sessions as investors hunkered down before a tight presidential election and a Fed meeting.

Futures steadied after Wall Street indexes fell on Monday, extending losses from last week as risk appetite remained strained by anticipation of several key events this week. Strong inflation readings from last week also weighed as markets braced for a less dovish Federal Reserve. 

S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% to 5,748.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.1% to 20,110.0 points by 18:13 ET (23:13 GMT). Dow Jones Futures rose 0.1% to 41,980.0 points.  Trump, Harris head for tight presidential election

Investors were on edge as recent polls showed Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were neck-and-neck in the upcoming presidential elections, with voting set for later on Tuesday.

While earlier polls had shown Trump gaining some ground over Harris, this trend appeared to have reversed going into the election. Trump is expected to roll out more inflationary policies and impose tougher trade tariffs on China- a scenario that could bode poorly for the big tech sector, analysts warned. 

Harris has proposed increased taxes on high net worth individuals and big businesses, while easing the tax burden on families.  Fed set to cut interest rates 

Focus this week is also on a Fed meeting, with the central bank widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points , after a 50 bps cut in September. 

Recent data showing sticky inflation and strength in the U.S. economy have cast some doubts over just how much interest rates will fall in the coming months, given that the Fed has signaled a data-driven approach to any further easing.

Still, weak nonfarm payrolls data released on Friday showed the labor market was cooling, which could keep the Fed biased towards more easing. 

Focus will be squarely on an address by Chair Jerome Powell on the bank’s plans for future rate cuts.  Wall St rangebound, mixed earnings also weigh 

Wall Street indexes stuck to a tight range over the past two sessions, but were nursing steep losses from last week. 

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% on Monday to 5,712.69 points, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.3% to 18,182.93 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 41,794.60 points. 

Third-quarter earnings continued to provide mixed cues, after a swathe of middling big tech earnings from last week. Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKa ) fell 2% after its operating earnings missed estimates.

On the other hand, data software firm Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR ) rallied nearly 13% in aftermarket trade as its earnings beat expectations. 

Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR ) rose 6.3% after it said CEO Rick Dreiling will resign and Chief Operating Officer Michael Creedon Jr will take over on an interim basis. 

Source: Investing.com