US stock futures rose Monday morning as Wall Street heads into a pivotal week dominated by the Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting of 2025.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) hovered above the flatline, while contracts tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) inched up 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) rose 0.3%.
The modest moves followed on the heels of a back-to-back weeks of gains for the major gauges. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.3% last week, with the Dow (^DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advancing 0.5% and 0.9% respectively. Markets were buoyed by a tame PCE reading for September that indicated a muted impact to “core” expenses.
The week ahead brings a raft of economic releases, chief of which is the meeting of Federal Reserve rate-setters on Tuesday. The public has been keenly eyeing the Fed ahead of Wednesday’s announcement and press conference from Chair Jerome Powell, with confidence in a rate-cut reaching optimistic highs.
Expectations for a rate cut have surged recently, with Fed funds futures now implying an 88% probability of an easing move, sharply higher than the sub-67% odds seen a month ago, per CME FedWatch.
The labor market will also be in the spotlight after a mixed bag of data last week. Tuesday finally brings the postponed October JOLTS report offering a read on hiring activity, layoffs, and the pace at which workers are quitting.
On the earnings side, Oracle (ORCL) and Adobe (ADBE) quarterly results will be in focus on Wednesday, while Broadcom (AVGO) and Costco (COST) headline the proceedings on Thursday.
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