On April 4, 2024, in the trading hall of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, the United States, traders displayed market information on the monitor.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Stock index futures were little changed Monday night after the S&P 500 closed at a record high in late September.
Futures and Dow Jones Industrial Average Down 70 points or 0.1%. S&P 500 Index Futures fell slightly by 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures.
At a regular meeting, S&P 500 Index and 30 stocks Dow Chemical Record closing. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Monday that the central bank “is not taking any preset path” when it comes to the next step in interest rate policy. He said that if the economy performs as expected, he expects to cut interest rates twice more this year, which is a quarter of a percentage point each time.
September is typically the worst month of the year for stocks, but this one bucks past trends. All three major stock indexes posted monthly gains, marking the first time the S&P 500 has posted gains in September since 2019. Nasdaq Index Season 3 also ended on a positive note.
To be sure, the Fed's half-percentage point rate cut at its most recent meeting has boosted the stock market's recent performance. Investors will now focus on Friday's September non-farm payrolls report, which will serve as the next catalyst for the major indexes.
“The risk here could be to the downside,” said Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar. “As the Fed begins to implement monetary easing with a 50 basis point cut instead of the typical 25 basis point cut, the real question is Yes, “Does the Fed think employment and unemployment are weaker than market conditions?”
Traders are also monitoring potential strike Sponsored by members of the Eastern and Gulf Coast International Longshoremen's Association. The outage is expected to occur at midnight and could cause significant disruption to the movement of cargo into and out of the United States
On the economic data front, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' August job openings and labor turnover survey will be released Tuesday morning. S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing purchasing managers index ISM manufacturing PMI data is also scheduled to be released.