As Friday, September 12, 2025, unfolds, U.S. stock futures are showing a largely steady performance in premarket trading, following a robust session on Thursday that saw major indices close at fresh record highs. Investors are carefully weighing a mix of economic data, including a slightly higher-than-expected inflation reading against clear signs of a softening labor market, all while maintaining strong conviction in an impending Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.
Premarket Activity and Futures Movements
This morning, S&P 500 futures (SPX) are hovering around flat to a slight decline of 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) are also largely flat, indicating a cautious start to the trading day. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (INDU) are down marginally, around 0.17% to 0.2%. This subdued premarket activity comes after a significant rally on Thursday, where all three major U.S. indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite, achieved new record closing highs. The Dow Jones (DJI) notably surpassed the 46,000-point threshold for the first time, a psychological milestone reflecting sustained bullish sentiment.
Major Market Indexes: A Look Back at Thursday's Performance
Yesterday's trading session was characterized by broad-based gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) surged by 1.36%, adding over 600 points to close at 46,108.00. The S&P 500 (SPX) advanced 0.85% to reach 6,587.47, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) climbed 0.72% to finish at 22,043.07. The small-cap focused Russell 2000 also saw a strong performance, gaining 1.83% to settle at 2,421.53, suggesting a broader market participation in the rally. This upward momentum was largely fueled by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve is poised to begin cutting interest rates in its upcoming meeting.
Upcoming Market Events: Fed Focus and Economic Data
The primary focus for investors remains the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for next week, September 16-17. Market participants are pricing in a near-certainty of a 25-basis-point interest rate reduction, a move widely anticipated to support economic growth.
Economic data released on Thursday provided a mixed picture. The August Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a monthly increase of 0.4%, pushing the annual inflation rate to 2.9%. This figure was slightly above expectations and marked the fastest annual increase since January, raising some questions about the pace of inflation's return to the Fed's 2% target. Counterbalancing this, weekly jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to 263,000, reaching their highest level since 2021. This surge in unemployment claims signals a notable softening in the labor market, which could provide the Fed with additional impetus to ease monetary policy.
For today, Friday, September 12, the economic calendar is relatively light for the U.S. Key releases include the preliminary Michigan Consumer Survey at 10:00 AM ET, which will offer insights into consumer sentiment, and the New York Fed Staff Nowcast at 11:45 AM ET.
On the corporate earnings front, several companies have recently reported or are scheduled to do so. Adobe (ADBE) delivered strong fiscal third-quarter earnings after Thursday's close, surpassing analyst expectations and raising its full-year outlook. This positive news sent Adobe shares up over 4% in after-hours trading and saw them gain 3.4% in Friday's premarket. Kroger Co. (KR) also reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday. Conversely, The Lovesac Co. (LOVE) saw its stock fall approximately 15% after cutting its fiscal year 2026 GAAP EPS guidance. Today, Huize Holding (HUIZ) is among the companies expected to release its second-quarter earnings.
Major Stock News and Corporate Developments
Several individual stocks are making headlines today:
- Oracle (ORCL): The software giant continued to be a focal point after its shares skyrocketed earlier in the week, gaining 36% on Wednesday and a further 2% in Thursday's premarket. This impressive rally was driven by the announcement of $455 billion in AI-driven cloud contracts and an optimistic outlook, underscoring the ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence in the market.
- Adobe (ADBE): Following its strong earnings report, Adobe is seeing positive momentum in premarket trading, with shares up as investors react favorably to its performance and outlook, particularly concerning its AI tools adoption.
- Opendoor Technologies (OPEN): The "meme stock" is experiencing a significant surge after naming a Shopify (SHOP) executive as its new CEO, a move that appears to be well-received by investors.
- Klarna (KLAR): Shares of the buy-now-pay-later firm, which saw a strong debut earlier in the week, pulled back on Thursday.
- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): Reports indicate that Paramount Skydance is preparing an Ellison-backed bid for the media conglomerate, suggesting potential M&A activity in the sector.
- HanesBrands Inc. (HBI): U.S.-listed apparel leader HanesBrands Inc. entered into a significant 10-year digital alliance with Indian IT services giant Infosys (INFY), covering digital, business applications, and data operations.
Overall, the market remains in a buoyant mood, supported by the expectation of Federal Reserve rate cuts and the continued excitement surrounding artificial intelligence advancements. While inflation data presented a slight uptick, the weakening labor market signals are reinforcing the narrative for accommodative monetary policy, keeping investor confidence high as the week concludes.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.