US stock futures tick lower with more Fed cues in focus

U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in evening deals on Monday as Wall Street steadied near record highs, with focus squarely on more upcoming signals from the Federal Reserve on interest rates. 

Wall Street marked a sluggish start to the week, recovering marginally from Friday’s losses, but remaining in sight of record highs hit last week after a bumper rate cut from the Fed. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 5,770.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.2% to 20,050.50 points by 19:16 ET (23:16 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 42,451.0 points.  Fed speakers, PCE data awaited 

Focus this week is on addresses by a slew of Federal Reserve officials- most notably Chair Jerome Powell - for more cues on the central bank’s plans to cut interest rates further. 

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he expected the Fed to slow its pace of future rate cuts after a strong start to the easing cycle, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the economy was nearing normalization faster than expected, although he did not expect the Fed to go on a “mad dash” to cut rates.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said the Fed’s 50 basis point cut last week furthered the case for a soft landing.

The Fed cut rates by the top end of market expectations last week, and the signaled the beginning of an easing cycle that analysts expect to bring rates lower by 125 bps by the end of the year.

PCE price index data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge- is also due on Friday, and is likely to factor into the Fed’s plans for lower rates. The reading is still above the Fed’s 2% annual target.  Wall St keeps record highs in sight; PMIs mixed 

Wall Street indexes rose marginally on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average remaining within sight of recent peaks. The NASDAQ Composite lagged, as tech stocks turned sluggish amid buying into other economically sensitive sectors. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,718.57 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 17,973.60 points on Monday. The Dow rose 0.2% to 42,124.65 points. 

Purchasing managers index data for September painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. While services activity grew more than expected, a decline in manufacturing activity worsened during the month.

Manufacturing PMI shrank at its worst pace since July 2023.

Source: Investing.com