Dow Futures Surge After Fed Signals Possibility Of More Rate Cuts This Year: META, PLTR, PYPL, GOOGL Among Stocks To Watch

U.S. stocks appear set for a positive opening on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s dot plot projections pointed to the possibility of two more rate cuts in 2025.

On Wednesday, the central bank cut the key rate by 25 basis points and highlighted labor market weakness while noting that “job gains have slowed.” This was the Fed’s first interest rate cut in 2025.

While Dow Jones futures were up 0.65% at the time of writing, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.79%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s futures surged 0.98%. Futures of the Russell 2000 index were up 1.5%.

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.73% at the time of writing, while Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.91% on Thursday morning. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory.

Asian markets ended Thursday’s trading session on a largely positive note, with the KOSPI gaining the most at 1.38%, followed by the Nikkei 225 at 1.3%, and the TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock index at 1.28%.

The Hang Seng index fell 1.3%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.17%.

Stocks To Watch

• Meta Platforms Inc. (META): Meta shares rose nearly 1% pre-market after the company unveiled a new pair of smart glasses.
• Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Palantir shares surged over 1.5% in Thursday’s pre-market trade after the company announced an investment of up to $1.95 billion in the U.K. by 2030.
• PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL): PayPal and Alphabet’s Google have signed a multi-year partnership to collaborate on digital commerce solutions. PayPal shares were up over 2% pre-market, while Alphabet’s shares gained over 1%.
• Novo Nordisk AS (NVO): Novo Nordisk announced that its experimental weight-loss pill worked nearly as well as its weekly injection in a late-stage trial. Novo shares gained over 6% pre-market.
• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (CBRL): Cracker Barrel’s stock tumbled nearly 9% after the company forecast a 4% to 7% fall in footfall over the past year after a recent branding change.

Also See: Fed Cuts Rate By 25 Basis Points

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