A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 18, 2025.
NYSE
Stock futures were little changed Friday following a winning session that sent indexes to new records as the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates set in investors’ minds.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped about 22 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each rose less than 0.1%.
The three major averages closed at all-time highs and notched fresh intraday records on Thursday. Notably, the small cap-focused Russell 2000 surged 2.5%, ending the session at a record for the first time since 2021.
“The market is being held afloat by the earnings numbers,” said Aswath Damodaran, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “As long as the earnings numbers keep coming in, there is no catalyst for an adjustment.”
“It’s not just Big Tech. It’s not just tech,” he added. “It’s collectively all stocks.”
Thursday’s moves come a day after the Fed lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point, cutting rates for the first time since December. The move was widely expected by markets, but stocks had a volatile session on the back of the decision after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his press conference characterized the decision as a “risk management cut.”
With Thursday’s gains, the Dow and S&P 500 are both on track to finish the week 0.7% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has climbed 1.5%, while the Russell 2000 has jumped nearly 3%.
There are no economic reports or major earnings reports scheduled for Friday.
