Investing.com — U.S. stock index futures rose Sunday evening, as Wall Street received some relief from weak inflation data, although investors were still bracing for a slower pace of interest rate cuts next year.
The Federal Reserve forecast smaller-than-expected cuts in 2025 last week, sparking big losses in Wall Street indexes for two days in a row and also leading to weekly losses.
It rose 0.3% to 6020.50 points, while it rose It rose 0.4% to 21,655.25 points by 18:40 ET (23:38 GMT). It rose by 0.3% to 43,425.0 points.
Investors are evaluating personal consumption expenditures data and the Federal Reserve's comments on price expectations
The data – a key measure of inflation favored by the Fed – rose 0.1% in November, a slower pace than October's 0.2% increase. Thus, the annual inflation rate for personal consumption expenditures reached 2.4%, slightly lower than the estimate of 2.5%.
Although recent data indicated some slowdown in inflation, it remained above the Federal Reserve's annual target of 2%, indicating that overall inflation remains steady.
The Fed signaled a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments, stressing the need for continued progress on inflation before further interest rate cuts are considered.
Comments by Fed officials on Friday showed that some policymakers are beginning to factor fiscal policy uncertainties, such as tariffs, into their forecasts.
Federal Reserve officials emphasized that they remain uncertain about how the new Donald Trump administration's policies will affect interest rate expectations, with some saying that the same uncertainty is what led them to expect smaller cuts in 2025.
The Fed cut by 25 basis points on Wednesday but expected only two rate cuts in 2025, compared to a previous forecast of four cuts.
Wall Street rises after two days of recession and technology rebound
Wall Street indices rebounded on Friday but finished lower for the week as the prospect of interest rates remaining high for longer sent Wall Street indices sharply lower on Wednesday and Thursday.
Technology stocks, which fell sharply after the Fed's decision, gained some ground on Friday with a broader rally on Wall Street.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) shares jumped 3.1%, while Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:) shares rose 3.5%.
Shares of Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:) rose 1.1% on Friday, while shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:) rose 2.4%.
On the other hand, Tesla (NASDAQ:) fell nearly 3.5%.
On Friday, the index gained 1.1% to 5,930.90 points, and rose 1.2% to 42,841.06 points, while it rose 1% to 19,572.60 points.
Over the course of the week, the S&P 500 fell nearly 2%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.8%. The Dow Jones index recorded a weekly decline of 2.3%.
