Stock Futures Jump Higher With Focus on Election Debate, Inflation Data

grace williams September 9, 2024.

U.S. stock futures were surging in premarket trading with markets on course to open in positive territory Monday as traders appeared set to go bargain hunting after the previous week was the S&P 500’s worst since 2023. Inflation data and political debate will be high on the agenda.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 233 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures were gaining 0.7%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.0%.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the consumer price index for August. Economists are expecting to see an increase of 2.6% from a year earlier. Producer price data will be out on Thursday.

Both sets of data will be scrutinized heavily for what they mean for expected rate cuts from the Federal Reserve after last week’s jobs report was inconclusive on the overall strength of the labor market.

However, the macroeconomic data releases could be overshadowed by the presidential debate between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

On top of any more details of the two candidates’ economic policies, it will bear watching any comments they make about inflation and the Fed.

“It is hard to imagine the Fed will cut more aggressively than the market is already pricing in, at least ahead of the election. Aggressive cuts between now and November would expose the Fed to accusations of (i) trying to influence the vote (which the Fed is always keen to guard against) and (ii) that it messed up by not cutting earlier,” wrote Louis Gave of Gavekal Research.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note stood at 3.751% early on Monday, ticking up from the previous week.