(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Monday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs in the previous session on upbeat business forecasts, as investors awaited a key inflation report due later this week.
The consumer price index (CPI) data due Wednesday is among the last major data sets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s December 17-18 meeting and could influence the bank’s monetary policy.
According to the CME’s FedWatch tool, money market participants now estimate about an 87% chance of a 25 basis point cut in the coming week.
Bets rose after strong November employment data on Friday, with some analysts saying the data was not timely enough to keep the Fed from cutting rates this month.
However, a host of Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have said the central bank can afford to be more cautious in its monetary easing given the economy’s resilience.
At 5:29 a.m. (ET), the Dow E-minis were down 24 points (0.05%), the S&P 500 E-minis were down 5 points (0.08%), and the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 30.5 points ( 0.14%) lower.
Wall Street’s major indexes started December on a mostly positive note, with the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq posting gains in their first week, while the Dow Jones ended the week marginally lower.
US stocks rose in November after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election and his party capturing both houses of Congress raised expectations of friendlier policies toward businesses.
Investors also kept an eye on political developments in Syria, France and South Korea.
Among notable premarket movers, Workday and Apollo Global Management rose 10% and 5.9%, respectively, after their scheduled inclusion in the S&P 500 index.
Interpublic Group advanced 13.8% after a report showed marketing conglomerate Omnicom was in advanced talks to acquire the advertising company. Omnicom shares fell 2.6%.
US-listed shares of Chinese companies also rose after China’s Politburo hinted at a shift to looser monetary policy next year and more proactive fiscal policy to boost economic growth. Alibaba rose 6.5%, PDD Holdings climbed 9.8% and Baidu rose 5.6%.
Most mega-cap and growth stocks remained subdued, while Tesla outperformed with a 1.9% gain.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
