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U.S. equity futures rebounded Friday after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams suggested the central bank could cut rates again in December.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 276, or 0.6%, to 46,101.
Futures for the S&P 500 index gained 41 points, or 0.6%, to 6,598.50
Futures for the NASDAQ hiked 155 points, or 0.6%, to 24,286.50.
The S&P 500 is still down 2.9% week to date, while the Dow has declined almost 3%. The NASDAQ has shed 3.6%.
The comments by a notable Fed member like Williams broke the equity market out of its artificial intelligence-stock slump and raised traders’ bets that the central bank would in fact cut next month for the third time this year. Fed funds futures traders are currently pricing in a more than 70% chance of a quarter percentage point cut, a spike from the 39.1% likelihood priced in the day before.
AI stocks, which were headed for another tough session before Williams’ comments, cut their losses in premarket trading. Nvidia and AMD both turned positive to gain around 1%. Investors hope easier monetary policy can revive a sluggish economy and justify historically high tech-stock valuations.
On Friday, bitcoin dropped roughly 3%, putting its week-to-date losses at more than 11%. The cryptocurrency has fallen to levels not seen since April as investors have pulled back on their risk-taking in the market.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 withered 2.4% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 2.4%
Oil prices declined 52 cents to $58.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $7.20 to $4,067.20 U.S. per ounce.
