US stock futures showed a modest rebound following a technology-driven selloff, setting a steadier tone as September begins with markets close to record highs.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts advanced 0.1%, with cash trading in US stocks and Treasuries closed for the Labor Day holiday, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.
The dollar was little changed.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.2%. BAE Systems Plc and Rheinmetall AG led advances in defense shares after the Financial Times reported that Europe is working on detailed plans for potential post-conflict deployments in Ukraine. Asian equities were mixed, with a 19% surge in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contrasting with a slump in chipmaking shares.
In commodity markets, silver rose above $40 an ounce for the first time since 2011. Gold inched closer to an all-time high as optimism grew for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.
Wall Street’s rally to all-time highs faces a crucial stretch, with jobs numbers, inflation data and the Fed’s rate call all landing within the next three weeks. The flurry of events will help determine whether stocks can extend gains or lose momentum as traders navigate what is historically the weakest month of the year for US markets.
Tariff tensions and questions over the Fed’s independence are compounding the risks.
“The bar to derail a Fed Rate cut on Sept. 17 appears high,” Deutsche Bank AG economist Peter Sidorov wrote. “But with Fed funds futures now pricing over 140 basis points of easing by the end of 2026, markets are expecting an amount of easing that since the 1980s has only occurred around recessions.”
Evercore ISI strategists led by Julian Emanuel argue that investors shouldn’t be unsettled by a bull-market pullback, projecting a 20% gain in the S&P 500 by the end of 2026. They add that market “scares” are to be expected, and view short-term turbulence as an opportunity to increase exposure.
European bonds weakened broadly, with a week to go before a confidence vote that could topple France’s government. The French-German 10-year spread, a key measure of risk, was little changed at 79 basis points. The gauge closed at 82 on Aug. 27, the highest since January.
