📈BEFORE THE BELL 🔔 09-Oct-2025

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BEFORE THE BELL

🟢U.S. stock index futures were subdued as investors awaited comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with markets looking for clues on whether the central bank will prioritize inflation control or labor market support.

🟢Minutes from the Fed’s September meeting revealed lingering inflation concerns, potentially complicating the path to rate cuts already priced in. Investors will also tune in to remarks from other Fed officials, including Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, Governor Michael Barr, and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly later in the day.

🟢Meanwhile, gold prices held above $4,000 as investors assessed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, while broader geopolitical uncertainty continued to support safe-haven demand.

🟢Oil prices fell on hopes of easing Middle East tensions.

🟢The dollar retreated slightly, but held most gains, helped by a weakening euro and a struggling yen.

🟢Elsewhere, European stocks pulled back from record highs, weighed down by banks after HSBC’s proposal to privatize Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Bank, while French political turmoil remained in focus.

🟢In Asia, Nikkei hit a fresh high, led by a surge in SoftBank Group on optimism around AI-powered robotics, while Chinese stocks rallied to their highest levels in over a decade, driven by strong gains in semiconductor, gold, and AI-related shares as investors returned from the Golden Week holiday.