Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures Steady

US stock futures were in a holding pattern on Thursday as Wall Street waited for data to test baked-in expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver a December rate cut, Rian Howlett and Karen Friar reported for Yahoo Finance.

A softer-than-expected ADP reading on private payrolls fueled hopes that the Fed may shift toward easing at its policy meeting next week. (Photo: New York Stock Exchange Facebook)

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures nudged up 0.1%. Contracts on the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were also little changed, following modest gains for broader markets on Wednesday.

A softer-than-expected ADP reading on private payrolls fueled hopes that the Fed may shift toward easing at its policy meeting next week. Traders are pricing in an 89% probability of a rate cut, according to CME FedWatch.

With earnings season in its final stretch, Salesforce shares rose after the business software maker posted a raised outlook that topped analyst expectations.

Meanwhile, Snowflake stock tumbled more than 8% after the AI data cloud provider’s revenue guidance fell short, even as it expanded its partnership with Anthropic.

Results from retailers Dollar General and Kroger could shed light on consumer resilience, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise earnings are also on the docket Thursday.