Wall Street futures rise as Fed signals two more rate cuts this year; Dow, Nasdaq up over 1%

Wall Street futures rise as Fed signals two more rate cuts this year.

Wall Street futures moved higher on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve delivered its first interest rate cut of 2025 and indicated the possibility of two more reductions later this year.

Bloomberg reported that traders assessed the Fed’s projection of additional rate cuts against Chair Jerome Powell’s caution that “there are no risk-free paths” as the central bank seeks to support employment while keeping inflation in check.

Technology and other rate-sensitive shares led gains in early trading. Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. were among the top performers among large tech stocks, rising up to 2.3 percent in pre-market trade. Smaller companies also advanced, with futures on the Russell 2000 index rising more than 1.4 percent.

At around 4:30 pm IST, futures linked to the S&P 500 were up 0.73 percent, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.96 percent, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 0.61 percent, pointing to a firm opening on Wall Street.

European shares also traded higher. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.72 percent, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.10 percent, and Germany’s DAX gained 1.17 percent.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed more than 1 percent higher, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended over 1 percent lower.

Back home, domestic equities extended their winning run for the third straight session on Thursday. Sensex climbed 320.25 points or 0.39 percent to close at 83,013.96, after rising as much as 447.5 points intraday to 83,141.21. The Nifty advanced 93.35 points or 0.37 percent to settle at 25,423.60.

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