Economy

U.S. stock futures fall as rate cut hopes fade

Friday 14 November 2025 - 15:50

By: Dakir Madiha

U.S. stock futures fall as rate cut hopes fade

U.S. stock futures dropped sharply on Friday morning as investor optimism over a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December dwindled, following a tumultuous trading session that marked Wall Street’s steepest losses in over a month.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures declined by approximately 0.8% to 0.94% and over 1%, respectively, according to market reports. This decline comes on the heels of Thursday’s market plunge, where the Dow shed nearly 800 points (1.65%), the S&P 500 dropped 1.66%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 2.3%.

The probability of a quarter-point rate cut during the Federal Reserve’s December 10 meeting has plunged to around 50%, down from 67% a week ago and 96% a month earlier, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Hawkish remarks from Fed officials have tempered expectations. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari expressed opposition to the recent rate cut and remained undecided about December, citing inflation levels "still around 3%, which is too high," as he told Bloomberg News.

Tech stocks and Bitcoin lead market declines

Tech stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, with Tesla sliding roughly 4% in pre-market trading on Friday, while Nvidia and Palantir Technologies each fell by 3% to 4%. These losses compounded the Nasdaq's Thursday slump, driven by broader weakness in the tech sector.

Bitcoin also experienced a sharp decline, falling below $96,000 for the first time in over six months. After briefly touching $95,885, the cryptocurrency recovered slightly but remained more than 20% below its October peak. Over $1 billion in liquidations were reported as investors retreated from riskier assets amid mounting market uncertainty.

Bond yields and mortgage rates climb

The 10-year Treasury yield stayed above 4.1%, closing Thursday at 4.13%. Meanwhile, the average 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.24%, up from 6.22% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.

Adding to the market’s unease, the White House warned that some economic data delayed by the recent 43-day government shutdown "will be permanently altered," further complicating the Fed’s decision-making process ahead of its December meeting.

Investors now await remarks from Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan later on Friday for additional insight into the central bank’s policy direction.