S&P 500 Futures Ride High on Investor Confidence in Peaking Rate-Hike Cycle

Thursday saw a rise in U.S. stock futures, buoyed by growing optimism that the U.S. rate-hike cycle may have peaked.

Highlights:

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00, +0.36%) increased by 59 points, a 0.2% uptick to 33,410.
S&P 500 futures (ES00, +0.57%) gained 19 points, reflecting a 0.4% rise to 4,275.
Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ00, +0.90%) surged by 93 points, marking a 0.6% climb to 14,838.

On Wednesday, significant market movements were recorded:

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 222 points, a 0.67% increase to 33,275.
S&P 500 (SPX) registered a 44-point increase, marking a 1.05% rise to 4,238.
Nasdaq Composite (COMP) showed a substantial gain of 210 points, climbing by 1.64% to 13,061.

Market influencers:

Wednesday introduced key market factors. Although Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell didn’t explicitly confirm a rate-hike peak, analysts interpreted his cautious stance as somewhat dovish. In addition, the Treasury refunding fell slightly short at $112 billion compared to expectations, with reduced issuance of 10- and 30-year notes from August.

Simultaneously, crucial indicators such as the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell below estimates, and the ADP private-sector employment gauge revealed unexpected downward trends.

“Despite Powell’s somewhat hawkish tone, market sentiment remained unconvinced, especially given [Wednesday’s] economic data suggesting a potential U.S. economic slowdown,” noted Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

In anticipation of Friday’s significant nonfarm payrolls report, upcoming releases on the economic calendar include weekly jobless claims and third-quarter productivity.

Furthermore, Apple (AAPL, +1.87%) is set to announce its earnings after the market’s closing bell.