U.S. stock futures edged higher Monday as resurgent bets on a December interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve helped turn sentiment that had been battered by falling technology stocks. 

At 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 5 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures gained 11 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 75 points, or 0.3%. 

U.S. stock index struggled last week, with the S&P 500 slipping 2%, bringing its November decline to 3.5%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite shed 2.7% in the prior week and is down 6.1% for the month, while the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9% last week and is off 2.8% month-to-date.

December rate cut bets rebound 

Heightened concerns over an artificial intelligence-fueled valuation bubble were the biggest driver of tech’s losses in recent weeks, as investors locked in profits from a near three-year rally. 

However, sentiment has turned after New York Fed President John Williams called for a rate cut in December, contrasting more cautious comments from other Fed officials and presenting a split outlook among Fed members on the December decision. 

Bets on a December interest rate cut have since rebounded sharply in recent sessions, with the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut jumping to around 69% from about 44% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

A host of long-delayed economic readings are due this week, and will offer some cues on the health of the U.S. economy and thus the Fed decision. 

Producer inflation, retail sales, and industrial production prints for September are due on Tuesday, while third-quarter gross domestic product data is due on Wednesday. 

Any signs of a cooling labor market and economic growth are likely to further the case for more easing by the Fed. 

But the central bank is still seen flying semi-blind into the December meeting, with the important November payrolls report, which will also include some of the delayed October release, not due until after the last meeting of the year. 

Agilent leads off holiday-shortened week

On the earnings calendar, investors will be keeping tabs on an ebbing stream of quarterly reports this week, although Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday will limit activity.

Life sciences firm Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) will highlight the agenda on Monday, with observers keen to see how the company is grappling with tepid order levels over the last two years. Still, there have been signs that demand for its tools and services needed to develop new medicines has stayed resilient.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reported that Lenovo Group (HK:0992), the world’s largest PC maker, is stockpiling memory chips amid an unprecedented supply squeeze due to the artificial intelligence industry.

The company is stockpiling component inventories that are roughly 50% higher than usual, CFO Winston Cheng said in an interview on Bloomberg TV, as outsized memory demand from AI data centers and cloud hardware tightened memory chip supplies and ramped up prices.

This trend is also expected to raise the prices of consumer electronics, which could hurt demand for Lenovo’s products in the coming quarters.

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