U.S. stocks rose before the bell on Thursday, on track for their best month this year, as investors continued to bet on interest rate cuts after key consumer inflation numbers.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (^DJI) rose about 0.6%, or over 200 points, while S&P 500 futures (^GSPC) rose about 0.3%. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) gained nearly 0.3%.
Stock indicators are entering the final trading day of November, with new closing highs for 2023 within reach. This came after a huge rally fueled by optimism that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates.
Stocks were boosted by Thursday’s release of the PCE index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, which was in line with expectations. The paper could reinforce the belief that the Fed is done raising rates this cycle and could cut rates sooner than expected.
Read more: What the Fed’s pause on rate hikes means for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards
Thursday also brought a surprise fall in euro zone inflation to 2.4% in November, seen as a challenge to the European Central Bank’s stance that price growth was stubborn.
Eyes are also on Thursday’s OPEC+ meeting, held online after it was postponed as smaller African producers resisted a push by Saudi Arabia and Russia for further supply cuts. Oil prices rose for a third day on expectations that the sides could reach an agreement on policy, with WTI (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) crude futures each rising about 0.7%.
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Originally posted 2023-11-30 13:48:19.