United States stock futures traded in a tight range on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT) following a positive session for major benchmark averages, driven by renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence names and growing expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
By 10:45 am AEDT (11:45 pm GMT) Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were each trading within a range of ±0.1%.
In extended deals, Zoom Communications jumped 3.7% after reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52 excluding items on $1.23 billion in revenue, ahead of expectations of $1.44 a share and $1.21 billion.
Symbotic soared 16.2% following a fourth-quarter revenue beat and strong first-quarter guidance. The automation specialist posted EPS of $0.58 versus $0.06 expected on revenue of $618 million, versus expectations of $604 million.
Keysight Technologies rallied 13.9% after delivering stronger fourth-quarter results. The company reported non-GAAP EPS of $1.91 per share, ahead of $1.83 expected, while quarterly revenue of $1.42 billion also exceeded expectations of $1.38 billion.
Monday’s gains marked a strong start to the shortened trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 203 points higher, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.6% in the previous session, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7% to post its strongest performance since 12 May as major technology stocks rebounded from a challenging month.
Despite the rebound, all three major U.S. indexes remain on track for monthly declines. The Nasdaq has dropped 3.6% in November, the S&P 500 is down about 2%, and the Dow has fallen 2.3%.
Traders continue to monitor signals that could influence the Fed’s December policy decision. According to the CME Group FedWatch Tool, markets now price in an 81.1% chance of a quarter-percentage-point cut next month.
The shift in expectations accelerated after New York Fed President John Williams said on Friday that there was scope to lower rates “in the near term”.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly also told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that she supports reducing rates due to labour market concerns.
The U.S. stock market will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will shut early on Friday.
