Futures on the New York Stock Exchange rose on Monday as investors braced themselves for the release of the highly-anticipated U.S. inflation report as an indication of the Federal Reserve’s monetary path going forward.
Dow e-minis were up 0.18% early Monday, while S&P 500 e-minis rose 0.39%. Nasdaq 100 e-minis led gains with a rise of 0.49%. U.S. stocks have shown healthy growth this year, with the benchmark S&P 500 index rising 16.6% for the year to date. This growth has largely been fueled by a rise in optimism about artificial intelligence and economic recovery amid cooling inflation. As a result, both Bank of America and JPMorgan last week dismissed their previous forecasts of a U.S. recession.
Investors’ focus turned to the upcoming inflation report after an employment report on Friday revived fears that the Federal Reserve could choose to keep interest rates higher for longer than was previously expected. “In our view, the picture on the labor market remains mixed,” UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer Mark Haefele remarked.