Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Traders Await Fed Policy Decision

07:34 AM EST, 12/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were tracking in the green before the opening bell Monday as investors await a major policy decision by the Federal Reserve later in the week.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly in the green and the Nasdaq added 0.2% in premarket activity. The indexes closed Friday higher, with the Nasdaq extending its winning streak to a fourth straight session.

The Fed's monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates due on Wednesday. The odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut stood at 90% on Monday, up from 86% on Friday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"The Federal Reserve has been blowing hot and cold on a December rate cut over the past month and a half, but momentum is now firmly behind a third 25 (basis-point) easing for the year," James Knightley, ING chief international economist in New York, said Friday.

Treasury yields were trending upwards in premarket action, with the two-year rate rising 1.7 basis points to 3.58% and the 10-year rate gaining 1.6 basis points to 4.16%.

Delayed government data on Friday showed that consumer spending growth slowed in September, while the Fed's preferred inflation metric decelerated at the annual level. Consumer sentiment picked up in December after a four-month deterioration, while year-ahead inflation expectations hit the lowest in 11 months, preliminary results from a University of Michigan survey showed last week.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for October is expected to be released on Tuesday, while the producer prices report for November is out on Thursday.

Broadcom (AVGO) , Oracle (ORCL), Costco Wholesale (COST) , Adobe (ADBE) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) are some of the major companies slated to disclose their latest financial results this week.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) were down 1.3% pre-bell as President Donald Trump on Sunday raised potential antitrust concerns around Netflix's (NFLX) proposed $72 billion deal to buy the media and entertainment giant. Netflix (NFLX) gained 1.4%.

"That's got to go through a process, and we'll see what happens," Trump reportedly said on Sunday when asked by reporters on the recently announced transaction, according to Bloomberg News. "But it is a big market share. It could be a problem."

In an emailed client note on Monday, Wedbush Securities said it was skeptical that the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal would clear regulatory hurdles. "Ultimately, we think the (Department of Justice) will reject a deal without concessions on pricing and industry standards," according to the brokerage.

Carvana's (CVNA) stock jumped 9% early Monday, with the company set to be added to the S&P 500 index later this month. Confluent (CFLT) surged 29% following a report by The Wall Street Journal that the company is in advanced talks to be acquired by International Business Machines (IBM) for about $11 billion.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil ticked down 1% to $59.48 a barrel before the open. Gold slipped less than 0.1% to $4,243 per troy ounce, while bitcoin inclined 0.6% to $91,992.

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