US pre-open: Futures point to gains as Fed rate cuts remain in focus

Wall Street futures were pointing to a positive start on Monday as attention remained focused on the Federal Reserve as hopes of 50 basis point cut to interest rates began to fade.

At 1230 BST, Dow futures were ahead 0.18%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.21% and 0.32%, respectively.

Stocks looked set to open slightly higher after a Wall Street Journal report on Friday suggested that a more cautious 25 basis point cut was likely following comments from multiple officials from the central bank.

Oanda's Craig Elam said: "Much of the attention recently has been on the Fed, with stock markets it seems heavily reliant on the central bank to cut interest rates multiple times this year.

"Bullard further attempted to pare back expectations for a 50 basis point cut next week, claiming he would like to cut by 25, adding that he sees no need for 50. Given that he's among the most dovish policymakers and possible the most dovish voter on the FOMC currently, it's surprising that a 50 basis point cut is still 20% priced in."

On the corporate from, earnings were in focus again, with Halliburton, Whirlpool and RPM International all set to report on Monday.

Credit reporting agency Equifax was also likely to be in the spotlight as it emerged it will pay a fine of up $650m to settle US federal and state probes into a 2017 data breach of personal information.

In terms of data, June's Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be published at 1330 BST.