Dow Jones Futures Start the Week Higher with Focus on Interest Rate Decision

On Monday (08), the pre-market in the United States shows slight gains at the beginning of a week marked by the decision on monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed), scheduled for Wednesday. Currently, the US interest rate ranges from 3.75% to 4%, with expectations of a 0.25 percentage point reduction, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool. Friday’s session ended with gains after the delayed release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for September, which was below economists’ expectations. This was one of the last economic releases before the Fed’s monetary policy meeting.
The United States does not have any significant economic indicators expected for Monday, but the New York Fed will release its consumer expectations survey. Throughout the week, investors will monitor corporate results from companies such as Lululemon, Costco, Broadcom, Oracle, and Adobe. Futures market performance: Dow Jones Futures: +0.02%, S&P 500 Futures: +0.13%, Nasdaq Futures: +0.20%.
Asia-Pacific markets are trading mixed as investors digest new trade data from China. Chinese exports grew by 5.9% in November in US dollars compared to the previous year, exceeding economists’ 3.8% growth forecast. In Japan, third-quarter GDP fell by 2.3%, worse than economists’ median forecast of a 2.0% decline and a preliminary estimate of a 1.8% decline. Shanghai SE (China): +0.54%, Nikkei (Japan): +0.18%, Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong): -0.97%, Nifty 50 (India): -1.23%, ASX 200 (Australia): -0.12%.
European markets are operating without a clear direction, with investors attentive to the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision this week. The Swiss National Bank will release its monetary policy update on Thursday. The following week, decisions are expected on interest rates from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) on December 18. There is no consensus yet on a possible interest rate cut by the Bank of England at its next meeting, while the prevailing expectation is that the ECB will keep rates unchanged. The Bank of Japan will also hold its final monetary policy meeting of 2025 on December 19. STOXX 600: -0.05%, DAX (Germany): +0.14%, FTSE 100 (UK): +0.06%, CAC 40 (France): -0.23%, FTSE MIB (Italy): +0.07%.
Oil prices are slightly up, with investors monitoring Russian oil purchases by India and Ukrainian attacks on their neighbor’s energy infrastructure. Iron ore prices in China closed in the red, amid decreased demand in China along with increased equipment maintenance and the lack of new stimulus measures from Beijing. WTI Crude Oil: +0.35% at $60.29 per barrel, Brent Crude Oil: +0.30% at $63.94 per barrel, Dalian iron ore traded at -1.43% at 760.50 yuan ($107.57).
Bitcoin (BTC) is up by 0.30% at $91,701.30 compared to 24 hours ago (Reuters and Bloomberg).