Wall Street Seen Opening On Flat Note

Market Activity - Trading activity is expected to be subdued on Friday with thin volumes and an early market close at 1 PM ET due to the Thanksgiving holiday [1] - Futures showed slight increases with Dow futures up 0.11%, S&P futures up 0.10%, and Nasdaq futures up 0.18% [1] Futures Trading - An outage on CME Group's platform disrupted futures trading, attributed to a technical issue at CyrusOne data centers [2] - Positive investor sentiment is supported by expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December [2] Federal Reserve Outlook - Major averages closed positively on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive session of gains as traders anticipated a rate cut by the Fed [3] - Dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials have increased optimism, with the probability of a quarter-point rate cut rising to 82.9% from 30.1% in the previous week according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool [3] Leadership Speculation - Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, is considered a frontrunner for the next Fed Chair, aligning with President Trump's preference for low-interest rates [4] - The Dow increased by 314.67 points (0.7%) to 47,427.12, the Nasdaq rose by 189.10 points (0.8%) to 23,214.69, and the S&P 500 advanced by 46.73 points (0.7%) to 6,812.61 [4] International Market Performance - Asian stocks showed mixed results, influenced by disappointing industrial profits data from China and concerns over the property market due to China Vanke's bond repayment delay [5] - European stocks experienced subdued trading as investors assessed recent economic data from the region and the U.S. [5] Commodity Prices - West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures increased by $0.43 (0.73%) to $59.08 per barrel [6] - Gold futures rose by $19.10 (0.45%) to $4,221.40 per ounce [6]