Stock futures are little changed after major post-election rally as focus shifts to Fed: Live updates

Stock futures are near flat Wednesday night after a huge market rally following Donald Trump's decisive victory in the presidential election. Traders are awaiting the Federal Reserve interest rate decision Thursday afternoon.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 12 points, or less than 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded marginally below flat.

Trump's triumph in the race for the White House spurred a surge in stocks that sent the blue-chip Dow soaring by more than 1,500 points. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all notched new all-time highs in the session, while the small cap-focused Russell 2000 jumped more than 5%.

Bitcoin, the U.S. dollar and bank stocks all jumped as part of Wednesday's post-election advance. On the other hand, several international funds and solar stocks struggled as investors expected the President-elect's policies to hurt these names.

"The results are in and the financial markets can breathe a little easier without concern over a prolonged election process," said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X ETFs. "Investors should still be cautious about over- and underreaction to geopolitical news. These events can typically cause large swings in asset prices, but fundamentals will win out over time."

Market participants on Thursday will closely monitor the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and Chair Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference. Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 100% likelihood that the central bank lowers the borrowing cost at this gathering, according to CME Group's Fed Watch tool.

That would mark a second straight cut after the Fed's decrease in September, which was its first since 2020. Before the afternoon announcement, traders will follow economic data on jobless claims and wholesale inventories.

Quarterly earnings are on deck for Moderna and Warner Bros. Discovery before the bell Thursday. Results for Block, Pinterest and Rivian are due in the afternoon.

Expectations fall towards a January rate cut

With Treasury yields rising on the back of a Trump election victory, expectations have fallen as to how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be in cutting interest rates this winter.

The fed funds rate, which determines what banks charge each other for overnight lending, currently ranges between a targeted 4.75% to 5.0%. At this point, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the U.S. central bank will decide on a quarter-percentage point cut, which equals 25 basis points, at Thursday's meeting.

Market pricing currently points toward a 71% chance of another quarter-point cut in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This probability compares to 77% on Wednesday, and 72% a week ago. Future rate probabilities found in the CME FedWatch tool are derived from trading in 30-day fed funds futures contracts.

On the other hand, expectations for a January rate cut have shifted as a result of Wednesday's election. The CME FedWatch tool points to market pricing currently favoring an interest rate pause in January.

Indeed, the probability of an additional quarter-point cut in January following a November and December cut has fallen to 29% from 41% on Wednesday and 45% a week ago. Meanwhile, the odds that the Federal Reserve keeps rates the same in January has climbed to 54%, up from 48% on Wednesday and 44% this time last week.

— Lisa Kailai Han

See the stocks moving after hours

These are some of the stocks making big movers in extended trading:

• Lyft — The ride-hailing company popped nearly 20%. Third-quarter revenue came in at $1.52 billion, topping consensus estimates for $1.44 billion, per LSEG. Guidance for the fourth quarter topped the Street's expectations, with Lyft forecasting bookings of $4.28 billion to $4.35 billion, despite FactSet consensus estimates calling for just $4.23 billion.
• SolarEdge Technologies — The maker of residential solar power inverters dove 18% after third-quarter revenue missed the Street's expectations.
• E.l.f Beauty — The cosmetics retail stock jumped 11% after a stronger-than-expected quarterly report and a guidance hike.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures are little changed

Stock futures are neat flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET.

Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 all traded marginally above flat. It comes after the preceding session brought a huge post-election rally for stocks.

— Alex Harring