Market Futures Mixed: Key Labor Data and Powell’s Rate Cut Signals in Focus

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Futures mixed in run-up to labor data; Powell signals modest rate cuts

Tuesday’s the United States stock index futures was neutral ahead of this week’s first labor market report, which came the day after Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, resisted the market’s expectations for a sharp reduction in interest rates.

Powell restated, at an economics symposium on Monday, that the Bank of England is expected to lower borrowing costs by an extra fifty percent by year’s end, on the strength of statistics indicating strong consumer spending and GDP.

Traders have currently priced in a 25-basis point reduction for the November meeting with a 60.2% probability, an increase from 41.8% the previous week, as per the CME Group‘s FedWatch Tool. There is a division among traders regarding the magnitude of the anticipated interest rate cuts by the Fed.

Since the Fed began its round of monetary policy easing in September, the labor market has become the primary focus of attention as inflation approaches its 2% target.

Everything is focused on the August job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS), which is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. ET, as well as the manufacturing activity estimate for September from the Association for Supply Management, or ISM.

Powell’s Rate Cut Preview: What to Expect from This Week’s Jobs Report

A surprise in the job data might yet change the Fed’s direction, according to analysts at Rabobank, “especially since Powell believes that inflation has been subdued.”

Considering that it’s not preset. For instance, the Federal Open Market Committee, also known as the FOMC, might yet decide to slash interest rates by 50 basis points if employment growth is extremely weak or the unemployment rate rises.”

The Dow E-mini was down 72 points, as well as 0.17%, the S&P 500 E-mini was up 4 points, or as 0.07%, as well as the Nasdaq 100 E-mini was up 56.5 points for it, or as 0.28%, at 7:07 a.m.

We will examine the comments of Governor Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve Presidents Raphael Bostic, Thomas Barkin, and Susan Collins to understand their views on the economy’s condition and the outlook for monetary policy.

The three primary Wall Street indexes ended September on a positive note, defying a historical pattern in which the month-end performance of stocks has generally been dismal. The blue-chip Dow and benchmark S&P 500 closed the previous session close to record highs and posted increases for the sixth consecutive month.

Additionally, markets kept an eye on a port strike that stopped almost half of the country’s ocean cargo on the East and Gulf coasts.

Retailers handle half of all shipping container volumes, and premarket trading indicated no movement in the shares of Designer Brands, Costco, and Walmart. After it was reported that Boeing is thinking of selling fresh stock to raise at least $10 billion, the company’s stock price somewhat declined.

Following news that the healthcare provider is considering options, including as splitting the business into separate retail and insurance divisions, CVS Health saw a 2% increase in value. After exceeding third-quarter projections and raising annual forecasts, McCormick saw a 2.5% increase in value.

Analysts had predicted an 8% increase from a year ago when Tesla announced third-quarter deliveries on Wednesday. The company was well ahead of schedule.