There were media reports Israel, the United States and Hamas had reached a tentative agreement to free dozens of hostages in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting, but no confirmation as yet.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were trading a fraction softer on Monday, but are still up sharply on the year so far driven by huge gains in the seven mega-cap darlings.
Tech major Nvidia reports quarterly results on Tuesday, and all eyes will be on the state of demand for its AI related products.
The Black Friday sales will test the pulse of the consumer-driven U.S. economy this week, while the Thanksgiving holiday will make for thin trading.
The flow of U.S. economic data turns to a trickle this week, but minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting will offer some colour on policy makers’ thinking as they held rates steady for a second time.
Markets are clearly vulnerable to any hawkish hints given they have priced in early and aggressive easing for 2024.
Futures imply zero chance of a further hike in December or next year, and imply a 30% chance of an easing starting in March. Futures also imply around 100 basis points of cuts for 2024, up from 77 basis points before the benign October inflation report roiled markets.
