US stock futures pulled back on Thursday as investors waited for fresh inflation data to confirm market confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) both slipped roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) fell almost 0.3% to lead the way lower.
A downbeat revenue forecast from Adobe (ADBE) helped dampen the mood, revealing the Photoshop maker’s struggle for a payoff from its AI investments. Shares in the software maker sank nearly 10% in pre-market.
Investors are set to get the next piece of the inflation puzzle — an update on wholesale prices — after the latest consumer inflation data invigorated stocks on Wednesday, lifting the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) above 20,000 for the first time.
The in-line consumer price index reading cleared one of the last remaining risks to easing by the Fed in December. That boosted bets on a quarter-point rate cut in December to a near 99% chance, per the CME FedWatch tool.
Eyes are now on the November producer price index report due later for any reason to recalculate those odds. The chances of the Fed holding rates steady in January are also in focus, after several officials voiced a cautious stance on policy.
Elsewhere in central banks, the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly lowered its key rate by 0.5%, its biggest cut in almost 10 years. The move set the stage for the European Central Bank decision later Thursday, expected to deliver the fourth rate cut this year as the region’s economy struggles.
LIVE 1 update
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Trump is ringing the NYSE opening bell today
It’s going to be a busier than normal day out front of the iconic New York Stock Exchange as President-elect Donald Trump is slated to ring the opening bell.
The bell-ringing on the podium feels befitting to a incoming president who has long viewed the stock market’s performance as an indicator of how his policies are doing.
As a memory jogger, in 1985 Ronald Reagan became the first sitting US president to ring the bell.
“With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.”
The bull was let loose for stocks in Trump’s first term and during President Joe Biden’s term. The S&P 500 rose 61% under Trump from inauguration day through Dec. 11. It has advanced 58% from Biden’s inauguration day to Dec. 11.
Useful historical watch below from that Reagan visit.
