Stock Futures Rise as Markets Bet on Faster Fed Rate Cuts

Stocks looked set to rise on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump was considering naming the next chief of the Federal Reserve in September or October, which fueled bets that the central bank would cut interest rates sooner than expected.

Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 66 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, with the benchmark index within striking distance of a record, and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%.

Trump has mulled accelerating when he will name his pick to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, according to the Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.