A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, September 6, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
US stock futures were little changed on Sunday night as investors awaited more economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 57 points, or 0.17%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.21% and 0.22%, respectively.
On Friday, the major averages closed flat after recovering from earlier losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 35 points, or was up 0.1%. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. All three indices achieved their second consecutive positive week.
A strong November jobs report released on Friday initially weighed on stocks, but traders shrugged off those concerns in anticipation of smaller Fed rate hikes possibly starting at the Dec. 13-14 policy meeting. Investors expect a week that could be light on catalysts before this meeting.
“One of the things that worries us is that even if inflation comes down from here, the cost of getting, say, a 4% to 2% inflation rate is getting higher and higher. It would likely come with a significant shake-up across businesses and the labor market,” Baird’s Nicholas Bohnsack said in a note on Friday.
“Ultimately, we think they’re going to slow down the rate at which they’re raising rates and then it’s going to take a long time to look at the landscape and what impact that might have,” Bohnsack added.
On the economic front, investors await November ISM services data at 10 a.m. ET on Monday. Economists polled by the Dow Jones expect a reading of 53.7.