US stock futures climbed on Thursday amid growing bets on interest-rate cuts as President Trump appeared to get closer to naming his replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose roughly 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) added 0.4% after the broad benchmark fell just short of securing a new all-time closing high. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) gained 0.5% with Nvidia (NVDA) on track to build on its record high on Wednesday.
Trump’s frustration with Powell’s “wait and see” approach to interest rates has led him to consider announcing his pick to succeed the Fed chair in September or October, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Markets view that as a signal that early US rate cuts have become more likely, given Trump’s frustration with the Fed chair’s “wait and see” approach to lowering borrowing costs. It would effectively undermine Powell’s influence for the rest of his term, which ends in May 2026, as focus would move to the incoming chair.
The dollar (DX=F) retreated to its lowest level since April 2022, already under pressure from concerns about tariff impacts and a looming US default. Treasury yields also declined, with the benchmark 10-year (^TNX) trading around 4.28%.
Investors get a snapshot of the health of the economy in a clutch of data due later. A weekly update on jobless claims, the third reading on first quarter GDP, and pending home sales for May are on the docket.
The main event for Wall Street to end the week lands Friday with the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report. Investors will be watching closely for any signs that Trump’s tariffs pushed prices higher.
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