US stock futures rise as Fed rate cut cheer puts Wall St at record highs
Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose in evening trade on Wednesday, extending a record-high run on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve kept rates steady and stuck to its forecasts of at least three rate cuts this year.
While Fed Chair Jerome Powell still projected some caution over sticky inflation, markets were cheered by Fed officials largely maintaining their forecast on lower rates this year. Powell also flagged continued resilience in the U.S. economy- a trend that bodes well for corporate earnings.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.3% to 5,302.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.6% to 18,582.25 points by 19:28 ET (23:28 GMT). Dow Jones Futures rose 0.2% to 40,019.0 points.
Wall Street indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday following the Fed’s signaling, as risk appetite was boosted by the prospect of lower interest rates and a resilient U.S. economy. Powell also reiterated his expectations for a «soft landing» for the U.S. economy.
Powell’s comments saw markets ramp up expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in June, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.9% at 5,224.62 points, while the NASDAQ Composite surged 1.3% to 16,369.41 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1% to 39,512.13 points, and was within spitting distance of the psychologically important 40,000 level.
Gains were mostly broad-based, although investors remained biased towards heavyweight technology stocks, particularly market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), on the prospect of an artificial intelligence boom this year. Nvidia rose 1.1% on Wednesday after unveiling more details on its latest line of AI chips, and extended gains into aftermarket trade.
Among other
Read more on investing.com
