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Wall Street Futures Edge Higher as Soft Jobs Data Fuels Rate-Cut Hopes

  US stock futures ticked upward on Wednesday, extending Wall Street’s rebound as investors digested a weaker-than-expected ADP employment report. The data showed a surprise decline in private-sector payrolls, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may move forward with an interest rate cut at its upcoming December meeting. Market Performance Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose about 0.2%, adding 80 points to 47,624. S&P 500 futures gained 9.25 points to 6,849.50, up 0.14%. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 25.50 points to 25,631.50, a 0.10% increase. Key Drivers The ADP jobs report revealed a drop in private-sector employment, signaling cooling labor market conditions. This bolstered investor confidence that the Fed will ease monetary policy, with markets pricing in nearly 88% odds of a rate cut next week. Tech stocks continued to provide momentum, with Nvidia and Marvell edging higher. Crypto-linked stocks surged, with PMAX up 67%, CMCT up 30%, a...

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Stock Market Edges Higher Ahead of Christmas Break

                                          

US stocks looked set for a mostly muted open to a final, shortened trading session before the Christmas holiday. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were up 0.1%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hugged the flatline.

Wall Street is looking to enter its Christmas break rejuvenated, after tech stocks including AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) led the march higher on Monday. Markets close at 1 p.m. ET today and are off tomorrow for Christmas Day. Sizable gains on Friday and Monday have put the indexes back on the path toward their record highs, from which they took a Fed-fueled nosedive last week.

Wall Street is reassessing the path of interest rates next year as it grapples with the reality that the Fed mostly pulled off a so-called soft landing – but couldn’t fully shake the US economy’s inflation problem. According to the CME FedWatch tool, most bets are on two coming holds at the Fed’s January and March meetings, followed by a toss-up in May.

Meanwhile, many eyes continue to be trained on Nvidia, which saw a more than 3.5% gain on Monday. As Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley writes, 2024 was Nvidia’s year, with the stock up some 180%. But 2025 could contain plenty of challenges.



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