Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Climb As Traders Mull Rate Outlook, Tariff Developments: Strategist Says Trend Positive But Stays Wary Of September Volatility

After the August job shock that led to a negative close in the final trading session of last week, sentiment appears to have improved. The stock futures pointed up early Monday, with those tied to the Nasdaq 100 Index leading from the front.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to see tariffs as a tax and stated in a media interview on Sunday that if the Supreme Court refuses to overturn the appeals court ruling, the Treasury may be forced to pay back half of the revenue it collected.

As of 4:35 a.m. ET on Monday, the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.31%, and the S&P 500 futures gained 0.20%, while the Dow and Russell 2000 futures gained about 0.15%.

Inflation readings headline the major Main Street events this week, with the consumer price inflation (CPI) for August and the corresponding wholesale price inflation data among the much-sought-after data. These are the final pieces of the economic puzzle that the central bank would weigh in on ahead of the September 16-17 Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting. 

Traders may also pay close attention to the weekly jobless claims data and the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment data for September. The Treasury Department will release the monthly federal budget for August on Thursday.

On Monday, the Federal Reserve’s consumer credit report for July is due at 3 p.m. ET, with the outstanding consumer credit expected to surge to $15 billion in July from the $7.4 billion in June.

Planet Labs (PL) and Casey’s General (CASY) are among the notable names reporting their quarterly results on Monday.

The broader market reversed course and posted gains for the week ended September 5, as traders reacted to an assortment of catalysts, including the appeals court ruling against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, an antitrust ruling in favor of Alphabet and a string of mostly negative economic data.

The S&P 500 hit new closing highs on Thursday before easing off the level in the next session.

For the week, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500 Index, gained 0.34%. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) jumped nearly 1%, and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) soared 1.11%. 

Meanwhile, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) slid 0.24%.

Fund manager Louis Navellier sees lower interest rates as a powerful stimulus to the economy, especially in the housing market. “While it will pinch savers’ interest income, it should also bring a lot of new funds out of money markets looking for better yields into stocks and bonds,” he said.

“The trend remains positive, but September's reputation for volatility remains intact.” Crude oil futures rebounded early in the week, while gold futures remained consolidated around their record highs.

The U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts, except the yen, which fell amid the political developments in Japan. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield traded below the 4.1% mark amid U.S. rate cut hopes.

With the tariff deal with the U.S. done, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would step down, which has lowered the odds of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan at next week’s policy-setting meeting.

Most Asian markets advanced, with the Japanese Nikkei 225 average leading from the front, while the Australian market bucked the uptrend. European stocks started Monday’s session on a firm note.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: Microsoft Retail Buzz Builds After Red Sea Cable Cut Disrupts Azure Services, Company Says Network Traffic ‘Not Impacted’