New York, USA – As US stock futures continue to hover near record-high levels, investors are eagerly anticipating the upcoming holiday-shortened trading week. The question on everyone’s mind is whether the bull rally that dominated 2024 still has momentum to push higher.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has seen a slight gain in futures, following a week where it achieved its fifth-straight record close. Conversely, S&P 500 futures are showing a dip below the flatline, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have lost about 0.2%.
The past week saw stocks soaring as a tech-driven rally prompted Wall Street to revise its year-end targets for the S&P 500. Evercore ISI and Goldman Sachs have both increased their price targets, with the benchmark index surpassing the 5,400 level for the first time recently.
Looking ahead, this week has fewer market-moving catalysts compared to the previous week. The retail sales report set to be released on Wednesday will provide valuable insights into the state of the US consumer.
Following last week’s reports on inflation and the Federal Reserve meeting, investors are awaiting potential rate cuts. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari recently hinted at the possibility of a December rate cut being the Fed’s sole action for the year.
Investors are closely monitoring chances of rate cuts, with around a two-thirds probability of the central bank commencing cuts by September. Federal Reserve officials John Williams and Patrick Harker are scheduled to make appearances on Monday.