U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday evening after Wall Street closed higher for a third straight session, supported by a rebound in technology shares and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026.
S&P 500 Futures were largely muted at 6,930.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures inched up 0.1% to 25,714.75 points by 19:43 ET (00:43 GMT). Dow Jones Futures also traded flat at 48,681.0 points.
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Wall St supported by tech gains
Earlier in the day, all three major U.S. equity benchmarks ended firmly higher. The S&P 500 gained about 0.5%, while the NASDAQ Composite also rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%.
Market participants are now turning their attention to a holiday-shortened trading week that is expected to see lighter volumes. U.S. markets will close early on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas Day.
Technology stocks, particularly chipmakers, were among the strongest performers and continued to underpin broader market sentiment.
Semiconductor shares extended their recent rebound after coming under pressure earlier this month due to concerns over stretched valuations tied to artificial intelligence and questions around long-term funding and capital spending.
Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) jumped over 4%, while Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares gained 1.5% on Monday.
Fed cut bets, chair replacement in focus
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Support for equities also came from last week’s U.S. consumer price data, which surprised on the downside and reinforced expectations that inflation pressures are cooling more decisively.
The softer CPI reading prompted traders to bring forward bets on interest rate cuts, with markets now pricing in a greater chance of swifter easing by the Federal Reserve in 2026.
Investors were also watching developments around the Fed’s leadership transition for fresh clues on the policy outlook.
With current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term set to end in May and President Donald Trump conducting interviews with several finalists, markets are trying to gauge the policy outlook.
