Wall St futures choppy as investors digest Fed's rate cut view
U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Monday after a last-minute government funding bill averted a shutdown and investors parsed the central bank's forecast on interest-rate cuts next year. After a solid run since the November presidential election, Wall Street's rally hit a bump this month, especially after the U.S. Federal Reserve forecast just two 25-basis-point rate reductions for 2025 - down from its September view of four cuts - and raised its annual inflation outlook, a sign that the world's largest economy was in strong health. "Last week's (Fed) meeting reinforced our baseline view that a skip at the January meeting could turn into an extended pause in 2025," economists at Deutsche Bank said in a note.