Stock market today: US futures edge up as rate-cut bets shift, with Nvidia on horizon
US stock futures traded mixed on Monday on the heels of a rally spurred by the Federal Reserve's message that interest-rate cuts are imminent, ahead of a
busy week dominated by Nvidia's
(
NVDA
) earnings report.
Futures on the S&P 500 (
ES=F
) rose roughly 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (
YM=F
) added roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (
NQ=F
) slipped 0.1% after the major indexes
all gained more than 1% for the week
.
Stocks are edging toward fresh record highs after Chair
Jerome Powell made it crystal clear
the Fed is ready to pivot to lowering rates in September. The benchmark S&P 500 (
^GSPC
) index is less than 1% away from topping the all-time closing high set in July.
Markets quickly moved to
price in cuts totaling 1%
by the end of 2024. But with only three Fed meetings left in the year — in September, November and December — and the August jobs report still to come, Wall Street is wondering when and whether a 0.5% cut is likely.
Now the focus is
firmly on Nvidia earnings
— the marquee event of the week — which will likely determine whether the market mood stays upbeat. If the chipmaker's results on Wednesday fail to meet sky-high expectations, that could further dent the
AI trade
that
has powered stock gains
— and, in turn, put the market's rebound from August lows to the test.
Also ahead is a Friday update on Fed policymakers' preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index print, is likely to feed into rate-path calculations. Also on decks is a reading on second quarter GDP on Thursday.
Elsewhere,
oil prices jumped almost 3%
amid reports of production shutdowns in Libya and fears of escalating Mideast tensions after both Israel and Hezbollah launched strikes. Global benchmark Brent crude futures (
BZ=F
) rose to $81.81 a barrel, while US benchmark WTI crude futures (
CL=F
) changed hands at $76.90 a barrel.