Futures on the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq point to setbacks from the Fed-driven route

U.S. stock futures pointed to a rebound on Thursday from the previous day’s sell-off, fueled by a hawkish outlook from the Federal Reserve on its stance on interest rates.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.5%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.6%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also rose about 0.5%.

The Fed reduced the number of rate cuts it expects next year to two, and Chairman Jerome Powell said even Wednesday’s decision — to cut rates by a quarter point — was a “closer call.” Markets interpreted the Fed’s move as a “hawkish cut” and reacted accordingly, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their worst days since the summer.

Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow is in the midst of its longest losing streak in 50 years. Another down day on Thursday would be its 11th consecutive down session. The Dow is still up over 12% this year.

On the economic front, the third estimate of US GDP for the third quarter showed the economy growing at an annual rate of 3.1%, above the previous reading of 2.8%. Other data out Thursday morning showed 220,000 weekly jobless claims were filed in the week ended Dec. 14, down from the 242,000 seen the week before.

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