Dow futures tick higher; Fed's Waller flags future rate cuts
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday, after dovish comments from a top Federal Reserve official raised expectations that the U.S. central bank has ended its rate-hiking cycle.
By 06:15 ET (11:15 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 60 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures traded 14 points, or 0.3%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 65 points, or 0.4%.
The main Wall Street indices posted small gains on Tuesday, resuming a rally that sees the Dow Jones Industrial Average on course to end the penultimate month of the year over 7% higher, the benchmark S&P 500 up 8.6% and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite over 11%.
Sentiment has received a boost following comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who suggested on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank's monetary policy is «well-positioned» to cool inflation.
Waller, normally known as a hawkish voice at the Fed, added that should inflation continue to ease back down to the Fed's 2% target for «several more months,» there is a chance that officials «could start lowering» interest rates.
Headline inflation in the U.S. slowed by more than anticipated to 3.2% in October, and Thursday sees the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index.
This is expected to have risen just 0.1% on the month in November, a drop from 0.4% in September, while the core reading, which strips out food and fuel costs and is considered a better gauge of underlying inflation, is expected to have risen 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, a drop from 3.7% the prior month, and the lowest since mid-2021.
Additional data due for release Wednesday include preliminary gross domestic product data for the third quarter as well as the wholesale
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