Investing.com – U.S. stock index futures faltered in after-hours trading on Monday as some Federal Reserve officials said interest rates were likely to remain unchanged in the short term while attention turned to upcoming Fed policy statements this week.
Wall Street posted three straight days of gains as some less aggressive comments from the Fed and softer-than-expected data led investors to raise their bets on a September rate cut. CME’s Fedwatch tool showed traders rate a 48% chance of a 25 basis point decline in September.
The first quarter earnings season will also continue this week, thanks to earnings from media giant Walt Disney Company (NYSE:) and major oil and gas companies Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:) are scheduled to release on Tuesday.
stabilized at 5,205.0 but fell slightly to 18,184.75 by 7:33 pm ET (2333 GMT). remained unchanged at 38,991.0 points.
Fed needs more confidence in lowering inflation
While softer-than-expected payroll data fueled optimism about some cooling in the labor market, Fed officials said Monday the central bank will need more confidence that inflation is falling before it can cut interest rates. .
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said current monetary policy was restrictive enough to eventually bring inflation within the Fed’s annual 2% target, while relative strength in the labor market would give the bank enough room to wait. until it happens.
New York Fed President John Williams also said that current monetary conditions are sufficient to reduce inflation.
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Their comments come after similar signals from last week’s Fed meeting. More central bank officials will also speak this week, with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speaking on Tuesday.
Inflation remained the biggest point of contention for the Fed when considering rate cuts, with price pressures rising more than expected in the first quarter and remaining well above the Fed’s annual 2% target.
Wall Street marks three straight days of gains
Wall Street indexes rose for a third straight session on Monday, reversing most of the losses seen in April.
The index rose 1% to 5,180.74 points, added 1.2% and ended at 16,349.25 points. At the close, shares rose 0.5% to 38,852.27 points.
Thanks to strong tech earnings, the Nasdaq has outperformed its peers in recent sessions, with the index now trading about 200 points below the record high reached in late March.