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In the financial markets, a notable event took place as futures steadied following a rally in technology stocks. This rally on Wall Street brought some strength, with the Nasdaq hitting a record high. Meanwhile, the Dow faced an eighth straight day of losses.

Central Bank's Anticipated Rate Cut

S&P 500 Futures declined by 0.1% to 6,145.50 points, and Nasdaq 100 Futures also fell by 0.1% to 22,392.25 points at 18:25 ET (23:25 GMT). Dow Jones Futures dropped 0.1% to 44,196.0 points. The central bank is widely expected to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Although the rate cut seems to be largely factored in by the markets, especially considering the recent gains on Wall Street, the main focus will be on the central bank's outlook on rates.Investors are preparing for the Fed to indicate a slower pace of easing in 2025. This comes amid growing signs of sticky inflation and the strength of the labor market, which are two major points of contention for the Fed. Goldman Sachs analysts stated in a recent note that they no longer anticipate a rate cut in January and that the bank will implement rate cuts at a slightly slower pace in the coming year. According to CME Fedwatch, traders were pricing in an 81.9% chance that the Fed will keep rates unchanged in January.Beyond the Fed, this week's focus is also on retail sales and industrial production data.

The Rally in Major Tech Stocks

Major tech stocks continued their recent rally on Monday, propelling the Nasdaq Composite to new heights. However, the Dow lagged behind as there was a sustained aversion towards economically sensitive stocks. Investors remained uncertain about the policies under the incoming President Donald Trump.Chips stocks witnessed a significant rally, following the lead of Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO). As a network chips maker, Broadcom extended its recent rally due to strong artificial intelligence-fueled earnings and guidance. The prospect of lower rates in the near-term also provided a boost to other heavyweight tech stocks like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL).The S&P 500 rose by 0.4% to 6,074.08 points, while the NASDAQ Composite surged by 1.2% to reach a record high of 20,173.74 points on Friday. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.3% to 43,717.48 points.