US stocks rose before the bell on Friday, on the cusp of fresh record highs as investors waited for a key inflation reading to test bets that a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut could land sooner rather than later.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and on the S&P 500 (ES=F) both moved up roughly 0.3%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also gained 0.3%.
Stocks are poised to resume the week’s march higher as markets embrace upbeat news after days of Mideast tensions and swirling tariff uncertainty. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed on Thursday just a few points shy of setting a new all-time high, buoyed by rising expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates as early as July.
Friday’s release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, is consequently being met with much anticipation. Investors will be watching closely for any signs that Trump’s tariffs pushed prices higher, an issue Fed Chair Jerome Powell has stressed could be a stumbling block to a rate cut.
Markets got a boost on the trade front, too. Trump said Thursday that the US and China have “signed” a trade deal, without giving further details. The two sides have agreed to implement the tariff truce they agreed in Geneva, per several media reports. More broadly, countries negotiating trade deals with the US will get an extension to the tariff pause, set to expire July 9, Trump team officials have said.
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