Stock futures pointed to gains Monday as Wall Street looked set to build on an end-of-week surge precipitated by a softer-than-expected jobs report that helped spur bets toward an earlier rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (^GSPC), the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) were all up around 0.3%.
Stocks rallied at the end of last week, getting a boost from a “Goldilocks” jobs report that struck the balance in providing welcome news for both the markets and the Fed. More than two-thirds of bets are now on a September rate cut from the Fed, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Most traders now expect at least two cuts by the end of the year.
Those bets could be swung by the return of Fedspeak, now that free-speaking Fed officials are untethered from a pre-meeting blackout period. New York Fed President John Williams and the Richmond Fed’s Thomas Barkin are set for remarks Monday, while Minneapolis’ Neel Kashkari is set to speak Tuesday.
In corporate news, Disney (DIS) will take center stage this week as earnings season starts to wind down. Its stock is up around 25% so far this year. Meanwhile, after a 6% post-earnings rally on Friday, Apple (AAPL) shares were down around 0.5% after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett revealed over the weekend the company had pared its holdings in the iPhone maker.
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