US equity futures traded slightly lower in the pre-market session after staying relatively flat throughout most of the overnight period, following recent gains post-election and after the Federal Reserve’s latest moves. However, they remain on track for a strong weekly performance. Meanwhile, China revealed a substantial 10 trillion-yuan ($1.4 trillion) initiative aimed at resolving its local government debt crisis, as officials seek to stabilize an economy facing new challenges linked to Donald Trump’s re-election. The measure, however, did not generate enough positive impact, contributing to an early equity market dip. By mid-morning, most equities had regained momentum, with advancers holding a slight edge over decliners at a 1.4:1 ratio; small caps outperformed, evidenced by IWM rising 0.36%, compared to SPY up 0.32% and QQQ down 0.04%. Market sentiment held steady, with the Fear and Greed Index at 61 (indicating greed) versus yesterday’s 59, last week’s 44 (pre-election fear), 70 a month ago, and 39 a year ago (fear). Additionally, the AAII bull-bear spread showed improvement, rising to 13.9 from 8.6 the previous week, with bulls increasing from 39.5% to 41.5%, while bears declined from 30.9% to 27.6%. Early sector performance was mixed, with Real Estate (+1.60%), Utilities (+1.43%), and Consumer Discretionary (+1.37%) leading gains among S&P sector ETFs, while Technology (-0.12%), Materials (-0.46%), and Communications (-0.63%) lagged in negative territory. Energy also edged slightly lower in line with oil. |