<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. stock index futures were little changed early Thursday, as traders took a cautious stance ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell\u2019s comments<\/strong> and additional speeches from other policymakers later in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT)<\/strong>, Dow and S&P 500 futures<\/strong> were both flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures<\/strong> slipped by 16 points, or 0.1%<\/strong>, suggesting a muted start for Wall Street after another record-setting session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equities extended gains on Wednesday, with both the S&P 500<\/strong> and Nasdaq Composite<\/strong> closing at fresh all-time highs<\/strong>, propelled by ongoing enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence<\/strong>. Analysts, however, noted growing concern over the circular nature of recent AI-related investments and partnerships<\/strong>, warning that valuations across the tech sector remain stretched. Still, market sentiment toward the AI theme remains overwhelmingly positive heading into the third-quarter earnings season<\/strong>, which begins next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investor attention also remains fixed on Washington<\/strong>, where a federal government shutdown<\/strong> has entered its second week<\/strong>, delaying the release of several key economic indicators. Analysts said that until official data resumes, the AI boom<\/strong> and interest rate expectations<\/strong> will likely dominate near-term trading dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets are bracing for Powell\u2019s pre-recorded remarks<\/strong> at a policy conference later today. Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee\u2019s September meeting<\/strong>, released Wednesday, showed a divided Fed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economists at Capital Economics<\/strong> said the minutes reinforced expectations that the Fed aims to bring rates toward a \u201cneutral setting\u201d<\/strong>, where policy neither stimulates nor restrains growth. Still, they anticipate a slower pace of rate reductions<\/strong> than markets currently expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With AI optimism<\/strong> continuing to offset macroeconomic uncertainty<\/strong>, analysts expect markets to trade sideways until Powell\u2019s comments offer more clarity on the Fed\u2019s trajectory. U.S. stock index futures were little changed early Thursday, as traders took a cautious stance ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell\u2019s comments and additional speeches from other policymakers later in the day. By 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT), Dow and S&P 500 futures were both flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped by 16 points, or …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":115890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6827,49,39,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-global-stock-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119750,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119749\/revisions\/119750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nAI Momentum Continues to Drive Market Sentiment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
AI-linked mega-cap stocks continued to anchor the rally, with companies such as Nvidia<\/strong>, AMD<\/strong>, and Microsoft<\/strong> leading advances amid expectations of sustained demand for AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWashington Stalemate and Economic Data Drought<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The lack of fresh data has forced traders to rely on alternative and private-sector measures of economic health, which so far have pointed to a slower labor market<\/strong> and sticky inflation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPowell\u2019s Remarks and Fed Minutes in Focus<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Investors will closely parse his tone for any signs of a hawkish pivot<\/strong>, which could temper expectations for further rate cuts.
Other Fed officials, including Vice Chair Michelle Bowman<\/strong> and Governor Michael Barr<\/strong>, are also slated to speak, though analysts doubt they will offer new insights given the ongoing data blackout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOutlook<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Volatility could rise in the coming weeks as investors digest early third-quarter earnings<\/strong> and the potential impact of the government shutdown<\/strong> on corporate outlooks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"