US stock futures stayed in the green on Friday after snapping a recent losing streak, as signs of cooling inflation and waning AI worries buoyed Wall Street optimism toward the tail end of a topsy-turvy week.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.3%, and contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) gained 0.5%, looking to build on Thursday’s roaring rally. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hovered above the flatline.
Investors have gotten through a catch-up week for economic data with next year’s rate-cut hopes intact, having embraced the outcome of this week’s delayed November reports on jobs and consumer inflation despite warnings over their reliability.
The inflation data on Thursday provided the latest spark Wall Street had been searching for. The Consumer Price Index found inflation cooling at a startling pace. The rally came even as some economists pointed to data collection limitations in the report, thanks to the federal government shutdown, and cautioned that January’s reading would give a better read on the overall state of price pressures.
The rosier inflation picture, combined with a weakening job market, have reignited hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue its recent string of easing. A plurality of traders are still betting on two cuts next year but have shifted more bets in recent days toward more cuts.
Friday will bring a final picture of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, after the firm’s initial December survey found the key measure increasing for the first time in five months as respondents’ inflation expectations improved.
Despite Thursday’s rebound, stocks are headed for notable losses for the last full week of trading in 2025. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are both down near 1% this week. Despite annual hopes for a “Santa Claus rally,” both indexes have also been hit so far this month by a broader rotation out of tech stocks. The blue-chip Dow (^DJI) is also down this week, but it is slightly positive so far in December.
In corporates, Nike (NKE) shares tanked in premarket trading after the sneaker giant reported continued weakness in its China market, despite outpacing Wall Street’s revenue projections.
LIVE 2 updates