Wall Street set for higher opening on rate cut bets

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a higher open on Friday as traders ramped up bets on a December interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve following commentary from policymakers, with tech stocks stabilizing after last session's rout.

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New York Fed President John Williams - a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee - said the central bank can still cut interest rates “in the near term” without putting its inflation goal at risk.

Traders now see a more than 70% chance that the Fed will cut its main lending rate by 25-basis-points in December, up from a near 37% chance seen earlier in the day, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

“There's still expectations for the rate cutting cycle to continue, whether it's in December or it’s early next year,” said John Campbell, head of systematic core equity team at Allspring Global Investments.

“There could be some volatility around December's cut, but the rate cutting cycle will probably still continue into next year.” At least four more Fed officials are slated to speak throughout the day.

Most megacap and growth stocks were higher in premarket trading, with Alphabet leading gains with a 2% rise.

Nvidia shares were last up 0.6% after a volatile session on Thursday when they swung as much as 5% higher before closing 3.2% down.

The world's most valuable company surpassed third-quarter revenue expectations and forecast fourth-quarter sales above analysts’ estimate late on Wednesday, while its CEO dismissed concerns about an Al bubble.