Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday evening amid persistent concerns over a slower pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, with upcoming nonfarm payrolls data set to provide more cues on the economy.
Trading volumes were thin on account of a market holiday on Thursday to honor the death of former President Jimmy Carter. But the central bank slashed its outlook for rate cuts in 2025, citing concerns over sticky inflation. The minutes of the Fed’s December meeting, released on Wednesday, also showed policymakers were concerned over the inflationary impact of protectionist policies under Trump.
Focus will be largely on whether resilience in the U.S. economy translated into strength in corporate earnings, and whether heavyweight technology stocks- which were a key driver of Wall Street in 2024- were able to maintain their earnings growth.