Stock futures were rising Monday, as investors hoped a slew of delayed economic data due this week would bolster the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates next month.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 143 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures jumped 0.7%, and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were 1% higher.
The three major indexes see-sawed last week as Wall Street fretted about bloated artificial-intelligence valuations, but the Dow added nearly 500 points on Friday New York Fed President John Williams signaled his support for lowering rates at the Dec. 9-10 policy meeting.
Traders are now pricing in a 71% chance that the central bank will cut borrowing costs by a quarter of a point next month, up from 42% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
The odds could shift again before Thanksgiving, with a flurry of data that were delayed by the government shutdown due out over the next three days. Wednesday’s weekly jobless claims figures could help decide if the Fed does slash rates, as it bids to support the labor market without triggering a flare-up in inflation.
“The question now is, will this Thanksgiving-shortened week give some respite to investors? Or are the good times for stocks behind us?” Kathleen Brooks, research director at the online foreign exchange brokerage XTB, said. “The initial signs are good.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped 1 basis point to 4.06% on Monday.
The dollar was flat against a weighted basket of its peers, and gold futures slipped 0.5% to $4,058 an ounce. Bitcoin, the large-cap cryptocurrency that often trades as a proxy for investors’ appetite for risk, was up 0.9% to $86,885 over the past 24 hours.