A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 18, 2025.
NYSE
Stock futures are near flat Thursday night following a winning session that sent indexes to new records as the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates set in investors’ minds.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 80 points, or nearly 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each also rose 0.1%.
The three major averages closed at all-time highs and notched fresh intraday records on Thursday. Notably, the small cap-focused Russell 2000 surged 2.5%, ending the session at a record for the first time since 2021.
“The market is being held afloat by the earnings numbers,” said Aswath Damodaran, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “As long as the earnings numbers keep coming in, there is no catalyst for an adjustment.”
“It’s not just Big Tech. It’s not just tech,” he added. “It’s collectively all stocks.”
Thursday’s moves come a day after the Fed cut interest rates for the first time this year. Stocks had a volatile session on Wednesday as investors initially reacted to the central bank’s decision and its economic projections.
With Thursday’s gains, the Dow and S&P 500 are both on track to finish the week 0.7% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has climbed 1.5%, while the Russell 2000 has jumped nearly 3%.
There are no economic reports or major earnings reports scheduled for Friday.
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