Futures Pointing To Slightly Higher Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a slightly higher open on Monday, with stocks poised to add to the modest gains posted last Friday.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting this week.

With the Fed widely expected to lower interest rates by another quarter point, traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts next year.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.2 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point on Wednesday but a 70.3 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged in January.

After ending Thursday’s choppy trading session little changed, stocks saw modest strength during trading on Friday. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in a month.

The major averages gave back ground after an early advance but remained in positive territory. The Dow rose 104.05 points or 0.2 percent to 47,954.99, the Nasdaq climbed 72.99 point or 0.3 percent to 23,578.13 and the S&P 500 increased 13.28 points or 0.2 percent to 6,870.40.

For the week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced by 0.9 percent, the Dow climbed by 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 rose by 0.3 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street came following the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data that largely came in line with economist estimates.

The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index climbed by 0.3 percent in September, matching the growth seen in August along with economist estimates.

The annual rate of growth by the PCE price index ticked up to 2.8 percent in September from 2.7 percent in August, which was also in line with expectations.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index rose by 0.2 percent in September, matching the increases seen in the two previous months as well as economist estimates.

The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index edged down to 2.8 percent in September from 2.9 percent in August. Economists had expected the annual rate of growth to remain unchanged.

The unexpected slowdown in the annual rate of core price growth reinforced recent optimism about the outlook interest rates ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

Buying interest remained somewhat subdued, however, as the Fed was already widely expected to cut rates by a quarter point.

Computer hardware stocks extended the strong upward move seen during Thursday’s session, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index climbing by 1.7 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Networking, semiconductor and software stocks also saw notable strength, while steel stocks showed a significant move to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are sliding $0.53 to $59.55 a barrel after climbing $0.41 to $60.08 barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after closing unchanged at $4,243 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $11.30 to $4,231.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.60 yen versus the 155.34 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1,1647 compared to last Friday’s $1.1642.

Asia

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday as investors parsed Chinese trade data, navigated deteriorating China-Japan relations and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due on Wednesday.

The Fed is likely to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but the path for 2026 looks more uncertain.

The dollar softened in Asian trading on rate cut expectations and gold traded firm above $4,200 per ounce, while oil hovered at two-week highs.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent to 3,924.08 after the release of trade data.

According to the customs office, Chinese exports grew 5.9 percent on a yearly basis in November, reversing a 1.1 percent decrease in October. Analysts expected shipments to increase 3.8 percent.

Imports posted annual growth of 1.9 percent after rising 1 percent in the previous month. This was weaker than the expected growth of 2.8 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of around $112 billion in the month.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1.2 percent to 25,765.36 as tensions between China and Japan escalated.

Japan accused Chinese fighter jets of aiming radar at its aircraft near Okinawa. China denied the claim and said Japanese jets provoked their navy.

Investors also weighed trade tensions after French President Emmanuel Macron raised the prospect of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods.

Japanese markets ended slightly higher after a choppy session as data showed the Japanese economy shrank more than initially estimated last quarter, primarily due to weak capital spending.

On an annualized basis, GDP declined 2.3 percent in the three months through September – missing expectations for a drop of 2.0 percent following a 2.2 percent gain in the second quarter.

The Nikkei 225 Index closed up 0.2 percent at 50,581.94, while the broader Topix index settled 0.7 percent higher at 3,384.31.

Among the top gainers, Fujikura jumped 7 percent and Fuji Electric surged 4.1 percent. Big tech stocks ended mixed amid caution over the durability of this year’s AI-driven rally. Startup investor SoftBank Group tumbled 3.3 percent.

Seoul stocks rallied, led by technology shares on growing expectations for robust fourth-quarter earnings. The Kospi jumped 1.3 percent to 4,154.85. Memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics rose 1 percent and peer SK Hynix soared 6.1 percent.

Australian markets ended marginally lower in cautious trading as the Reserve Bank of Australia kicked off its two-day policy meeting. Investors also waited for cues from local jobs data, due on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged down 0.1 percent to 8,624.40, with miners leading losses. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 0.1 percent at 8,915.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 13,486.32 after two consecutive sessions of losses.

Europe

European stocks are mixed on Monday ahead of interest rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Swiss National Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of Canada this week.

In economic news, German industrial production growth unexpectedly accelerated in October, official data showed.

Industrial output logged a monthly growth of 1.8 percent in October, Destatis reported. Economists were expecting the increase to ease sharply to 0.2 percent from a revised 1.1 percent rise posted in September.

On a yearly basis, industrial production gained 0.8 percent, in contrast to the 1.4 percent decrease in September.

While the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.

Kloeckner and Co shares soared 18 percent. The German metals company has confirmed it is in discussions regarding a potential voluntary takeover offer from U.S. metals processor Worthington Steel.

Car parts supplier Stabilus declined 1.7 percent after its profit fell in fiscal 2025, impacted by unfavorable market conditions, the global tariff conflict, and the higher pricing pressure in the automotive business.

French bank BNP Paribas edged up slightly after it signed an agreement to sell its 25 percent stake in AG Insurance to Ageas for €1.9 billion.

Beauty giant L’Oreal lost nearly 2 percent on news it will double its stake in Swiss skin care firm Galderma.

Swiss major Sandoz rallied 3 percent after completing the acquisition of Just-Evotec Biologics EU SAS from Evotec SE.

Smith & Nephew advanced 1.6 percent. The medical technology company outlined a new strategic plan, updated 2026 guidance, and long-term 2028 goals at its Capital Markets Day in London.

Consumer goods giant Unilever slumped 3.8 percent after completing the demerger of its ice cream business, now known as The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC).

U.S. Economic News

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $58 billion worth of three-year notes at 1 pm ET.