U.S. stock futures rise on heightened hopes for interest rate cuts
U.S. stock futures advanced early Monday, recovering from last week’s payrolls-driven sell-off as expectations for lower interest rates buoyed investor sentiment.
At 06:49 ET (10:49 GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 252 points (0.6%), S&P 500 futures gained 39 points (0.6%), and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 177 points (0.8%).
Wall Street’s major indexes closed sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting its steepest decline in over two months. The sell-off followed President Trump’s executive order imposing sweeping tariffs on imports from nearly 70 countries. Sentiment was further dented by a soft jobs report—featuring significant downward revisions—and Trump’s dismissal of the head of the statistics bureau, whom he accused, without evidence, of rigging the data. Analysts warned the move could undermine confidence in the reliability of U.S. economic statistics.
Soft Jobs Data Fuels Rate Cut Bets
Markets are now focused on factory orders data for June as concerns mount over the U.S. economic outlook. The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by just 73,000 in July, well below the 110,000 consensus estimate. Additionally, May and June figures were revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs.
The weak report sharply boosted expectations for Fed easing, with markets now pricing in over an 80% probability of a rate cut in September.
Earnings in Focus: AMD, Disney, Caterpillar
Investor attention is also shifting to a busy week of corporate earnings, with over 150 companies set to report. Results so far have been broadly solid, reinforcing optimism around artificial intelligence-led growth.
On Tuesday, eyes will be on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Caterpillar (CAT) for insights into chip demand and global industrial trends.
Wednesday brings earnings from Walt Disney (DIS), McDonald’s (MCD), and Uber Technologies (UBER).
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) reported a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft Heinz (KHC) stake, along with a decline in insurance underwriting income, weighing on Q2 performance.
Oil Drops After OPEC+ Output Deal
Crude prices declined Monday following OPEC+’s decision to ramp up production in September.
As of 06:49 ET, Brent crude fell 1.6% to $68.51 per barrel, and WTI dropped 1.6% to $66.23.
OPEC+ agreed to raise output by 547,000 barrels per day next month—effectively completing the reversal of its largest production cuts, which had removed roughly 2.5 million bpd from the market, or about 2.4% of global demand.
