U.S. stock futures dipped on Monday after closing higher for the day and the week on Friday. Futures of major benchmark indices were trading lower in premarket.
The S&P 500 index recorded its fifth day of gains on Friday after turning positive for the year at the beginning of the previous week.
However, Moody’s Ratings downgraded the United States’ long-term credit rating, from Aaa to Aa1 and shifted its outlook from “negative” to “stable.”
This decision means the U.S. has now lost its top-tier “triple-A” rating from all three major credit agencies, following similar downgrades by Fitch and S&P Global.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.54% and the two-year bond was at 4.00%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 91.7% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its June meeting.
Futures | Change (+/-) |
Dow Jones | -0.92% |
S&P 500 | -1.32% |
Nasdaq 100 | -1.74% |
Russell 2000 | -1.72% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 1.21% to $587.00, while the QQQ declined 1.63% to $513.00, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
Fueled by tech giants like Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), the Nasdaq Composite led the charge with a robust 7.2% gain last week, contributing to a broad market rally.
U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, marking the S&P 500’s fifth consecutive session of gains and a 5.3% weekly increase. The Dow also added 3.4% for the week.
While most S&P 500 sectors closed positively on Friday, with healthcare, utilities, and real estate leading, energy stocks declined.
Economic data revealed a dip in U.S. consumer sentiment but a slight increase in both import and export prices for April. Apple also saw a ~6% gain last week.
Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
Nasdaq Composite | 0.52% | 19,211.10 |
S&P 500 | 0.70% | 5,958.38 |
Dow Jones | 0.78% | 42,654.74 |
Russell 2000 | 0.89% | 2,113.25 |
Insights From Analysts:
Ryan Detrick from Carson Research highlighted in an X post that the “bear market isn’t fully recovered yet, but it is close.”
According to the data shared by him, the bear markets between November 1980 to August 1982 and March 2000 to October 2002 staged the quickest recoveries, within three months.
“Should it happen soon, this will be the quickest recovery ever from a bear or near bear market.”
No, this near bear market isn't fully recovered yet, but it is close.Should it happen soon, this will be the quickest recovery ever from a bear or near bear market. pic.twitter.com/rbtma7WLYH
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) May 19, 2025
Meanwhile, CNBC's Jim Cramer recalled that "the market dropped 6.7% after the last downgrade back in 2011, but it, ultimately, meant nothing." Despite weeks of market decline following that event, Cramer emphasized investors "had to stay the course."
As I write a draft for the CNBC investing club for our meeting on Wednesday i am mindful that the market dropped 6.7% after the last downgrade back in 2011 but it, ultimately, meant nothing and while the market kept falling for weeks you had to stay the course
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) May 18, 2025
Dan Niles, founder of Niles Investment Management, expects less severe market reactions this time. "Prior debt downgrades have been followed by S&P drops of 8-10%," Niles noted, adding that "today, tariff rollbacks is driving a pickup in the economy & the decline should be less."
Niles believes current conditions differ significantly. "Unlike in 2023 or 2011, the economic environment is improving around this debt downgrade," he wrote, citing reduced China tariffs driving trade resumption.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will keep an eye on this week:
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.53% to hover around $61.63 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.30% to hover around $3,243.83 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was lower by 0.80% at the 100.2840 level.
Asian markets ended lower on Monday as South Korea's Kospi, Australia's ASX 200, Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, India's S&P BSE Sensex, and China’s CSI 300 indices declined. European markets were also lower in early trade.
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