US stocks geared up on Monday to resume a rally spurred by the Federal Reserve's message that interest-rate cuts are imminent, ahead of a busy week dominated by Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings report.
Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose roughly 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) added 0.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) traded broadly flat, after the major indexesall gained more than 1% for the week.
Stocks are edging toward fresh record highs after Chair Jerome Powell made it crystal clear the Fed is ready to pivot to lowering rates in September. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) index is less than 1% away from topping the all-time closing high set in July.
Markets quickly moved to price in cuts totaling 1% by the end of 2024. But with only three Fed meetings left in the year — in September, November and December — and the August jobs report still to come, Wall Street is wondering when and whether a 0.5% cut is likely.
Now the focus is firmly on Nvidia earnings — the marquee event of the week — which will likely determine whether the market mood stays upbeat. If the chipmaker's results on Wednesday fail to meet sky-high expectations, that could further dent the AI trade that has powered stock gains — and, in turn, put the market's rebound from August lows to the test.
Also ahead is a Friday update on Fed policymakers' preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index print, is likely to feed into rate-path calculations. Also on decks is a reading on second quarter GDP on Thursday.
Elsewhere, oil prices jumped almost 3% amid reports of production shutdowns in Libya and fears of escalating Mideast tensions after both Israel and Hezbollah launched strikes. Global benchmark Brent crude futures (BZ=F) rose to $81.81 a barrel, while US benchmark WTI crude futures (CL=F) changed hands at $76.90 a barrel.