©Reuters
Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures were little moved in evening trading Sunday, as the recent rally on Wall Street cooled on anticipation of more signals on inflation and the Federal Reserve later this week.
it settled at 5,291.50 points, while it remained stable at 18,572.75 points by 7:29 pm ET (11:29 pm GMT). he fell 0.1% to 39,835.00 points.
Wall Street faces consolidation after strong rally
Wall Street indexes rose to record highs last week after the Fed signaled it will cut interest rates at least three times this year, while persistent hype over artificial intelligence also pushed investors into tech stocks heavyweights, especially NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:).
But that rally cooled on Friday, with analysts now signaling near-term consolidation on Wall Street as traders lock in profits following a record rally seen so far in 2024.
On Friday the decline was 0.1% to 5,234.18 points. The stock rose 0.2% to 16,428.82 points, supported mainly by Nvidia, while on Friday it fell 0.8% to finish at 39,475.90 points.
All three indexes have largely remained within reach of the record highs they reached last week, and have so far risen between 4% and 10% in the first quarter of 2024. The end-of-quarter repositioning could also spur a some weakness on Wall Street.
The wait for further inflation data and signals from the Federal Reserve also kept markets on edge.
PCE inflation, Fed interventions this week
The data, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, will be released this Friday. Given that the Fed recently reiterated its position that inflation will drive the path of interest rate cuts in 2024, markets were on guard ahead of the reading.
While U.S. inflation has fallen considerably over the past year in the face of high interest rates, it still remains well above the Fed’s 2% annual target, a trend that has remained a major point of contention for the central bank .
A large number of Fed officials are expected to speak this week, with members of the rate-setting committee speaking on Monday and Friday respectively.
is set to speak during the week, after striking a rather dovish tone at last week’s Fed meeting.