US Stock Futures Gain as Rates Relief Sets In – Europe Market Wrap

US stock futures rose as traders took comfort in the Federal Reserve’s warning that it has no plans to hike interest rates and looked ahead to Apple’s impending results.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%, with Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia all seeing slight increases in pre-market trade. The yen was the focus of interest in foreign exchange markets, with another day of large fluctuations amid rumours that Japanese officials had intervened to boost the currency.

Markets are cheering the Fed’s more dovish tone than some had expected, despite a flood of reports pointing to persistent inflation pressures. Chair Jerome Powell stated that raising interest rates is unlikely to be the central bank’s next action, and that authorities would need to see compelling evidence that policy is not tight enough to bring inflation back to the 2% objective.