Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Stalling; Boeing, Nvidia, DJT, More Movers; Fed Rate Cut Hopes; Treasury Yields Falling

Traders are digesting a week of macroeconomic data that has broadly confirmed the trend of cooling inflation.

However, traders have rushed to price back in the possibility of a 50 basis-points cut to rates at the Fed’s September meeting next week, following a report in The Wall Street Journal that it could be a close call. Fed-fund futures price in a 43% chance of a half-percentage point reduction and a 57% chance of a quarter-point reduction.

Gold prices were rising on Friday, with investors piling into gold as they await the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week following the latest string of U.S. data.

Futures were trading 0.7% higher at $2,598.30 a troy ounce, supported by a softer U.S. dollar and investors cementing bets on a 25 basis-points rate cut.

According to analysts, a risk-on tone is also boosting sentiment across base metals, with three-month copper 0.5% higher at $9,251.50 a metric ton and aluminum up 0.9% to $2,436.00 a ton on signs of supply tightness and a rise in raw material costs.

Oil prices continued to recover on Friday, driven by supply disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Francine made landfall on the Louisiana coast, before being downgraded to a tropical depression.

According to data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Francine forced the shut-in of around 42% of crude oil production and 53% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico as of Thursday afternoon.

A softer U.S. dollar is also providing support to the broader commodities complex, with Brent crude and WTI trading 0.5% higher at $72.31 and $69.33 a barrel, respectively.

Both benchmarks are currently on track for modest weekly gains following a sharp selloff earlier this week, but widespread concerns over demand and fears of a market oversupply next year still linger.

Stocks were headed for a quiet opening early Friday as futures edged up after a week of gains, with the focus still firmly on the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy meeting next week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 45 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were also rising 0.1&, while those tied to the Nasdaq 100 futures were up less than 0.1%. Both the S&P and Nasdaq have risen every day so far this week.

Traders are digesting a week of macroeconomic data that has broadly confirmed the trend of cooling inflation. The producer price index increased by 0.2% in August, in line with the consensus estimate, and up from 0.1% in July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.

However, traders have rushed to price back in the possibility of a 50 basis-points cut to rates at the Fed’s September meeting next week, following a report in The Wall Street Journal that it could be a close call. Fed-fund futures price in a 43% chance of a half-percentage point reduction and a 57% chance of a quarter-point reduction.

“If pricing stays where it is currently, it would be the first meeting in years where there’s serious uncertainty about the rates decision,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Henry Allen in a research note.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note stood at 3.652% early on Friday, ticking down from the previous day.

Among individual stock names, Boeing will be in focus after its biggest labor union voted overwhelmingly to strike, after rejecting a labor deal that offered 25% wage increases over four years.