Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on September 05, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were lower on Sunday night following a tough week for the equity market.
S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22 points, or less than 0.1%.
The stock market suffered serious losses to kick off its first trading week of September, a seasonally slow month for equities. The S&P 500 tumbled 4.3%, registering its worst week since March 2023. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.8% for its worst weekly performance since 2022, while the 30-stock Dow dropped 2.9%.
These declines came after the August jobs report stoked fears of a slowing labor market. Economic data released Friday revealed that nonfarm payrolls grew by just 142,000, missing the 161,000 gain expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. On the other hand, the unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.2%, as economists had expected.
This week, investors will watch out for two key inflation reports that could further inform the Federal Reserve’s decision at its next open market committee meeting. August’s consumer and producer price reports are slated for release on Wednesday and Thursday morning, respectively.
The market has now priced in a 71% chance that the Fed could cut rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting and just a 29% chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut, according to CME Group FedWatch Tool. But Vincent Deluard, StoneX’s director of global macro strategy, believes that even a weaker-than-expected consumer or producer price report won’t be enough to spur a heftier rate cut.
“CPI is going to come in line with consensus — it’s not going to change the needle — and PPI isn’t as important,” he told CNBC in an interview. “Powell certainly wants to cut, but he’s a reasonable guy. 50 basis points in September … Why take the risk?”