U.S. stock futures were headed for a very quiet opening early on Friday after a week of gains, with the focus still firmly on the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy meeting next week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down one point,

S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU24)are up +0.23%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU24) are up +0.08% this morning, while Treasury yields slumped after fresh U.S. economic data left investors uncertain about the size of an anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.

Wall Street has grown anxious as speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates grows. The Fed is anticipated to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020, though it’s not known by how much.

The Federal Reserve is virtually certain to deliver an interest rate cut when it concludes its policy meeting on Wednesday, but the size of that cut remains far from certain. Fed-funds futures traders have priced in a knife-edge decision between a standard cut of 25 basis points or an outsize move of 50 basis points.

Inflation is still sticky: car insurance, daycare, rent. Inflation data, however, hasn't justified such a move as yet, and the labor market, which represents the second side of th

Higher unemployment might drive the Federal Reserve to reduce rates by a half-percentage point, although still-hot inflation argues for a smaller move. Plus, how to make the Fed’s “dot plot” more effective.

US stocks advanced on Friday as investors began to price in greater odds of a half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its policy meeting next week, fuelling risk appetite across the world.