Stock Futures Higher With Fed Meeting on Deck; Nvidia Falls on China Tensions

U.S. stock futures rose in premarket trading on Monday ahead of this week’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

Stock futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% in early trading on Monday, as were S&P 500 futures. Nasdaq 100 futures contract advanced 0.2%. The major stock indexes all posted gains last week, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high on Friday as investors bet lower interest rates are imminent.

Wall Street is overwhelmingly confident that the Fed will lower borrowing costs for the first time this year when it concludes its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. Data released last week showed consumer inflation accelerated in August—though, by no more than Wall Street was expecting—while wholesale prices declined on the month, further cementing the likelihood of a 25 basis point cut this week. Investors will be scrutinizing Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference to gauge the Fed’s willingness to lower borrowing costs again at its two remaining meetings this year.

U.S.-China trade tensions took the spotlight Monday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent heading up talks in Madrid. Bessent said the two countries were close to reaching an agreement on TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app that is facing a U.S. ban. President Trump later implied the deal had been agreed on.

Possibly complicating the talks: Chinese regulators on Monday accused chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) of violating antitrust law with its acquisition of an Israeli networking technology company in 2020. Nvidia, shares of which fell more than 1% in premarket trading on Monday, has become an increasingly attractive target for Chinese authorities seeking to gain leverage in trade talks and support a homegrown AI industry.

Tesla (TSLA) led tech mega-caps higher after a regulatory filing showed CEO Elon Musk bought $1 billion of stock on Friday. The stock purchases were seen as a demonstration of Musk’s commitment to the electric vehicle maker, the board of which recently proposed a pay package that could top $1 trillion.

Treasury yields were mostly lower on Monday, with the 10-year yield, which affects borrowing costs on a variety of consumer and commercial loans, declining to 4.04% from 4.07% at Friday’s close. Yields have declined to their lowest levels this year in anticipation of Fed rate cuts.

Gold futures held steady at about $3,685 an ounce on Monday. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.4% to $63 a barrel.

Bitcoin recently traded around $114,700, down from an overnight high of about $116,700. The cryptocurrency came under pressure last month after hitting a record high of more than $124,000, but has trended higher in recent weeks after sliding.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was recently down 0.2% at 97.30.