U.S. stock index futures edged higher Sunday evening, with investors closely monitoring bipartisan talks to prevent a potential government shutdown this week.
At 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT), S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% to 6,704.0, Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.1% to 24,761.25, and Dow Jones Futures climbed 0.1% to 46,606.0. The slight uptick came after Wall Street ended Friday on a positive note, buoyed by in-line inflation data that reinforced expectations for multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
Still, the S&P 500 snapped a three-week winning streak last week, weighed down by declines in large-cap technology stocks. Investors now face a week where fiscal uncertainty in Washington competes with monetary policy expectations in shaping sentiment.
Shutdown Threat Raises Market Concerns
Funding for the federal government is set to expire at midnight on September 30, with no replacement bill currently in place. Lawmakers remain divided:
- Republicans are pushing for a temporary funding bill extending through November.
- Democrats demand reversal of healthcare and Medicaid cuts before passing any resolution.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet congressional leaders on Monday. Speaking to Reuters, Trump expressed optimism, saying he believed Democrats “want to reach an agreement.”
A shutdown could delay the release of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report and stall future data releases if prolonged. The last partial shutdown, lasting 35 days from late 2018 into 2019, reduced U.S. GDP by an estimated $11 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Fed Rate Cut Bets Support Market Outlook
Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, came in line with forecasts. The data eased fears that tariffs would spark runaway inflation, reinforcing bets that policymakers have room to cut rates.
According to CME FedWatch, markets now assign a 90.8% probability of a 25 basis-point cut in October and a 63.8% chance of another in December.
Major indexes closed higher Friday:
- S&P 500: +0.6% at 6,643.70
- Nasdaq Composite: +0.4% at 22,484.07
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.7% at 46,247.29
Despite the gains, all three benchmarks ended the week lower, underscoring the fragile balance between political uncertainty, interest rate expectations, and sector-specific weakness.
