Stock Market Today: Stocks pause record rally with inflation data on deck

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U.S. equity futures edged lower in early Wednesday trading, while the dollar slumped and Treasury bonds rallied, as investors looked to a key set of growth and inflation data heading into the final full trading day of the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Stocks ended at fresh record highs Tuesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.57% on the session to extend its year-to-date advance past 25.5%. The market move followed solid consumer-confidence data and news of a Biden-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that could stabilize a region devastated by two years of conflict.

Bond markets, which have been active for most of the week amid a slate of new Treasury auctions and a host of nominees to President-elect Donald Trump's economic team, extended their rally overnight following a cautious set of minutes from the Federal Reserve's November policy meeting.

Traders are still betting on a quarter-point interest rate cut next month, when the Fed meets for the final time this year in Washington.

But they've pared bets on further reductions into 2025 as officials said that "monetary policy decisions were not on a preset course and were conditional on the evolution of the economy and the implications for the economic outlook."

President-elect Donald Trump has been filling out key positions on his economic team this week, including veteran Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative.<p>Adam Gray&sol;Getty Images</p>
President-elect Donald Trump has been filling out key positions on his economic team this week, including veteran Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative.

Adam Gray/Getty Images

Benchmark 10-year note yields were marked 4 basis points lower overnight at 4.263% while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.219%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.54% lower at 106.439.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish the October reading of the Fed's favored inflation gauge, the PCE price index, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, alongside weekly jobless-claims figures and a second estimate of third-quarter GDP from the Commerce Department.

Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which closed at a record 6,021.63 points last night, are priced for a modest 9-point opening-bell decline.

Related: Goldman Sachs analyst sees starting point for year-end S&P 500 rally

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are indicating a 35-point slip while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq are called 55 points lower at the start of trading.

Dell Technologies  (DELL)  shares were a notable premarket mover, falling 12% to $125.10 after the computer maker reported weaker-than-expected fiscal-third-quarter earnings and a muted holiday forecast.

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