Wall Street shares were down Monday despite hints from the Federal Reserve that interest rate cuts may be on the horizon, the Associated Press reports. Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 0.2%.
The news follows Friday’s stock market rally, which came in response to Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech to an annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Powell acknowledged risks to the job market. That acknowledgement, combined with a surprisingly weak report on job growth this month, has led many traders to expect a rate cut as soon as the central bank’s next meeting in September.
This week, Nvidia’s earnings report, due Wednesday after markets on Wall Street close, is a key focus of attention. Nvidia’s role as a key supplier of chips for artificial intelligence and its heavy weighting give it outsized influence as a bellwether for the broader market.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 50 cents to $64.16 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 45 cents to $67.67 per barrel.
