Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow edge up as investors start countdown to Fed decision

US stock futures tipped higher on Monday while bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose to a fresh record, as investors geared up for the Federal Reserve’s final policy decision of the year later in the week.

Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) moved up roughly 0.3%, coming off a fresh record for the tech-heavy index. Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) both nudged up 0.1%, on the heels of a losing week for those major gauges.

Meanwhile, software company MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) stock popped over 4% in pre-market trading ahead of the bitcoin buyer’s addition to the Nasdaq 100. Bitcoin itself surged to an all-time high above $105,000 as hopes for a crypto-friendly Trump administration continued to fly high, before easing back to around $104,000.

Markets are taking their foot off the gas as the final Federal Reserve meeting of the year approaches. Its interest-rate decision on Wednesday is already in high focus as Wall Street watches for a catalyst to revive this year’s stellar stock rally.

Investors see a final 2024 rate cut as a sure thing, with 97% of traders currently pricing in a 25 basis point move. The bigger question now is whether the Fed is ready to scale back on its “dot plot” that laid out four more small cuts in 2025, given persistently sticky inflation and potential Trump administration challenges.

This week also brings an update to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — and a reading on US retail sales in November for insights into consumer resilience.

The Fed’s decision headlines a busy week of central bank decisions worldwide, with the Bank of Japan among those set to make a rate-setting call.

Elsewhere, China’s latest reading on retail sales fell short of forecasts, weighing on regional stock markets after Beijing held back on introducing hoped-for stimulus measures at the weekend. Official figures also showed Chinese housing prices continued to fall, though industrial production grew.