Wall Street was set for a muted open on Friday, as a rally powered by a sweeping Trump win and an expected interest-rate cut paused after lifting the S&P 500 futures above the 6,000 mark for the first time.
Futures tracking the benchmark index surpassed the psychologically important milestone on Thursday on expectations of an easier regulatory regime under President-elect Donald Trump, with lower borrowing costs boosting the sentiment.
The Fed cut the benchmark rate by 25 basis points as Chair Jerome Powell said the election outcome would not have a “near-term” impact on monetary policy.
However, Trump’s fiscally expansive spending plans and proposed tariff hikes could push up inflation, complicating the Fed’s policy path.
The central bank would begin estimating the impact on its twin goals of stable inflation and maximum employment when the new administration’s proposals take shape, Powell said.
Traders have already trimmed expectations for rate cuts next year, and bond yields have jumped to multi-month highs.
Still, the immediate impact on Wall Street has been fairly muted as all three major indexes closed around record highs on Thursday.
The Dow and S&P 500 are set for their best week in nearly a year, while the Nasdaq is on track for its best in two months.
“The move this week in stocks was extreme, and speaks volumes about just how much the market loves having certainty, which we have, now that the presidential election outcome is known,” said Clark Geranen, chief market strategist, CalBay Investments.
“The S&P 500 closing in on the 6,000 mark could invite even more investor interest in stocks, since there is still plenty of money sitting on the sidelines in money market funds and in bonds.”
Dow E-minis were up 31 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 0.5 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 39 points, or 0.18%.
Shares of chipmaker Nvidia edged up 0.3% in premarket trading, after the AI pioneer became the first in history to surpass a $3.6 trillion in market value on Thursday.
Airbnb dropped 5.7% after missing third-quarter profit estimates, while Pinterest slumped 13.2% after a disappointing revenue forecast.
U.S.-listings of Chinese companies lost ground as the government’s latest fiscal support measures failed to impress investors. JD.com and Alibaba fell around 4% each.
Cloud networking provider Arista Networks dropped 5% after forecasting 2025 revenue below estimates.
Investors were also keeping an eye on a likely “Red Sweep” as Republicans were set to keep their narrow lead in the House of Representatives after winning control of the Senate. That would make it easier for Trump to enact his legislative plans.
The University of Michigan’s preliminary November consumer sentiment survey data is due later in the day, while Fed Board Governor Michelle Bowman is expected to speak.
(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
