US stock futures bounce after Fed-inspired rout; Micron, GDP data in focus

US stock index futures edged higher Thursday, rebounding after the previous session's rout as the Federal Reserve indicated a slower pace of easing in 2025.

At 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 140 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures gained 21 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 87 points, or 0.4%.

The prospect of interest rates remaining higher for longer than expected sent Wall Street indexes sharply lower on Wednesday, with heavy losses in the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped over 1,000 points, or 2.6%, its 10th consecutive lower session, marking its longest losing streak since 1974. The S&P 500 declined 3%, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 3.6%. Fed officials project only two more cuts in 2025

The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, bringing down the borrowing rate to a range of 4.25%-4.50%.

Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that further reductions depend on progress in curbing persistent inflation, reflecting policymakers' adjustments to potential economic shifts under the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Policymakers now see the benchmark rate falling to 3.9% for next year, suggesting just two 25 bps rate cuts, compared with a prior forecast in September for four cuts.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) economic projections showed that inflation was still a long way from its 2% target, with the targeted metric expected to end this year at 2.4% and at 2.5% next year.

It also showed that policymakers now expect slightly higher economic growth and lower unemployment next year compared to their projections three months ago. Third-quarter GDP due

There are a number of economic data releases to study later Thursday.

The third-quarter GDP  release is the highlight, and is expected to show that annualized growth fell to 2.8% in the quarter, a drop from 3.0% the previous quarter. 

Weekly jobless claims are also due, as well as existing home sales for November and the December Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index .  Micron slumps after weak guidance

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU ) shares plunged 15% premarket after the company issued weaker-than-expected second-quarter guidance.

Elsewhere, tech giants Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA ) both firmed around 2% after hefty losses during the previous session. Crude weighed by new Fed stance

Crude prices fell Thursday, weighed by demand concerns after the Federal Reserve turned more hawkish, potentially stifling growth in the world’s largest consumer. 

By 06:00 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) dropped 0.9% to $69.96 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.1% to $73.33 a barrel.

Traders feared that global economic growth will cool under relatively higher rates, limiting demand, in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s meeting. 

The US dollar also soared, climbing to an over two-year high, which pressures the oil complex by making the commodity more expensive for international buyers. 

Additionally, official data from the Energy Information Administration  on Wednesday showed US crude stocks fell by 934,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 13, compared with expectations for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. 

(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com