Traders and floor officials react to technical issues on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on June 3, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were little changed Sunday night after a winning week, as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and May inflation data.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 13 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
Wall Street is coming off a positive week for the major averages, with the S&P 500 having touched a record intraday high on Friday. The broad market index advanced 1.32%. Meanwhile, the 30-stock Dow registered a 0.29% gain, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.38%.
Notably, Nvidia notched a 10% advance last week as enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence darling pushed the chipmaker past the $3 trillion market capitalization for the first time.
However, the Fed’s latest rate decision and May’s consumer price index that are expected Wednesday could prove key tests for markets, especially after Friday’s strong jobs report continued to suggest the central bank could hold off on lowering rates.
Investors will parse through the Fed’s updated projections on the timing and frequency of rate cuts. Markets are now pricing in just one rate cut this year, coming in November, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
“Implications for FOMC policy are mixed in our view,” wrote Macquarie’s David Doyle, who anticipates in his base case that rate cuts will commence in 2025. “On the dovish side of the ledger is that the rise in unemployment has become more meaningful. … On the hawkish side is that the firm NFP and associated details suggest labor demand growth remains solid.”
Elsewhere, on Monday, investors will also keep an eye on Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference at which the iPhone maker is anticipated to makes its latest software announcements.
