US pre-open: Futures trade lower following Friday's solid gains
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 25 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Monday after the blue-chip Dow Jones rocketed to fresh intraday and closing records in the previous session.
As of 1105 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.20%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.23% and 0.31% lower, respectively.
The Dow Jones closed 846.24 points higher on Friday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to rate cuts at his keynote Jackson Hole address.
Powell seemingly indicated that the central bank may begin easing monetary policy at its September meeting, sending expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut to around 84%, from roughly 75% earlier in the week.
Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya said: "Investors lapped up Jerome Powell's words like honey on Friday, as the man has apparently been troubled enough by the latest weakness in jobs numbers to say that this situation 'suggests that downside risks to employment are rising' and that 'if those risks materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment'. And no one wants that to happen - especially after heavy criticism from the White House pointing at Powell as Mr Too Late. So, Powell basically delivered the 25bp before the September meeting. Unless we see a major positive surprise in the next jobs data, or a major quickening in inflation numbers, September will bring the first rate cut since last September's 50bp cut.
"Powell's message was too clear to be questioned regarding a September action. With a dovish policy shift in hand, the door is open to fresh positive pressure across the equity markets."
On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve's July national activity index will be published at 1330 BST, while last month's new home sales were slated for release at 1500 BST, and August's Dallas Fed manufacturing business index will follow at 1530 BST.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday, with investors looking ahead to quarterly numbers from the likes of Nvidia and Dell later in the week.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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