Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., Sept. 11, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures edged higher Monday after President Donald Trump said that U.S.-China trade negotiations were going well. Investors also braced for a key Federal Reserve meeting this week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 78 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures added 0.2% and Nasdaq-100 futures gained about 0.1%.
Top U.S. and Chinese officials for a second day discussed tariff rates and the imminent deadline for a divestment of Chinese-owned social media TikTok. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the meeting between officials had been positive and that a deal “was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save,” potentially referring to TikTok. The U.S. will go ahead on its TikTok ban if China does not let go of its demands for reduced tariffs and tech restrictions, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a a senior U.S. official with knowledge of negotiations.
As talks between the countries continued, China’s market regulator said Nvidia violated the country’s anti-monopoly law and that it would continue its probe into the chipmaker. Nvidia shares dropped about 1.5%.
Tesla shares jumped 7% in the premarket after CEO Elon Musk disclosed an insider purchase of the stock worth about $1 billion, his largest buy in the open market ever and his first significant purchase since 2020. Traders took the buy as a vote of confidence by Musk in the company, which is attempting to turn its focus towards robotics as electric vehicle competition has intensified.
Those moves come after the major averages finished out a strong week. In particular, the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record, rising 2% for its second winning week in a row. The S&P 500 gained 1.6%, posting its best weekly performance since early August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average wrapped up its first positive week in three.
The strong gains come after the latest economic data showing a weakening labor market and tame inflation spurred hopes the Fed will cut interest rates when it concludes its meeting on Wednesday. The market was last pricing in a 96% certainty that the central bank will lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point, with a meager 3.6% likelihood of a steeper half percentage point cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“All sorts of flags are leaning toward the Fed putting in a 25 basis point cut in here,” said Mark Malek, investment chief at Siebert Financial.
Lower rates could continue to support the stock market, which has received a boost from investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, and despite risks to the economic outlook. Investors will also be watching the Senate to see if Stephen Miran will be sworn in as a Fed governor in time for this week’s FOMC meeting.
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