US stock futures pointed to a rebound Thursday from the previous day’s sell-off that was fueled by a hawkish outlook from the Federal Reserve on its path for interest rates.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were up 0.5%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.6%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also rose around 0.5%.
The Fed scaled back the number of rate cuts it expects next year to two, and Chair Jerome Powell said even Wednesday’s decision — cutting rates by a quarter point — was a “closer call.” Markets interpreted the Fed’s moves as a “hawkish cut” and reacted accordingly, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their worst days since the summer.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow is in the midst of its longest losing streak in 50 years. Another down day on Thursday would be its 11th consecutive down session. The Dow is still up over 12% this year.
On the economic front, the third estimate for third quarter US GDP showed the economy grew at annualized rate of 3.1%, above the previous reading of 2.8%. Other data out Thursday morning showed, 220,000 weekly unemployment claims were filed in the week ending Dec. 14, a decrease from the 242,000 seen the week prior.
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