On September 11, 2024, in New York City, the United States, a special trader worked on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures were little changed on Sunday night as investors awaited the highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting, where the central banker is expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020.
S&P 500 Index Futures hovers below the flat line, while Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average A little touched, Nasdaq 100 Futures It fell slightly by 0.15%.
The S&P 500 is less than 1% from its July high and could hit a record high this week. After a historically weak start to September, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher last week, with S&P 500 Index and high technical content Nasdaq Index Just finished the best week of 2024.
Central bank governors are scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and are widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time since they began raising rates in March 2022. Cost for the company, improve overall profit growth – promote economic growth.
Overnight lending rates currently range from 5.25% to 5.5%. According to CME data, about 56% of traders expect a 25 basis point rate cut, while 44% expect a larger rate cut of 50 basis points. Fed Watch tool.
Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital, said that in cycles where the first interest rate cut can sustain the economic expansion, the stock market usually experiences strong gains.
“As long as nothing goes wrong with the economy, U.S. stocks will remain firmly in a bull market, but with a very strong performance over the past year leading up to the first rate cut, future gains are likely to be more modest relative to historical norms. View,” he said in a report on Friday.
Investors will also look to August retail sales data due on Tuesday as well as food company earnings general mills and Olive Garden parent company. Darden Restaurantalso fedex and home builders Lenard.