Market Overview - Stocks are expected to show initial weakness in early trading on Friday after a strong upward move in previous sessions, with S&P 500 futures down by 0.1 percent [1] - Profit taking may contribute to this initial weakness following a rally that lifted major averages to new record closing highs [1] Federal Reserve Expectations - Traders are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement next Wednesday, with expectations of a rate cut due to subdued inflation and a weakening labor market [2] - The CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates a 92.5 percent chance of a 25 basis points rate cut and a 7.5 percent chance of a half-point cut [2] - The Fed is expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points at both its October and December meetings, with future cuts depending on incoming economic data [3] Consumer Sentiment - The University of Michigan is set to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment for September, with expectations of a slight decline to 58.0 from 58.2 in August [4] Stock Market Performance - Major averages showed strong upward movement on Thursday, reaching new record closing highs, with the Dow up 617.08 points (1.4 percent), S&P 500 up 55.43 points (0.9 percent), and Nasdaq up 157.01 points (0.7 percent) [5][6] - In overseas trading, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region mostly moved higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index up by 0.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up by 1.2 percent [6] European Market Performance - Major European markets displayed mixed performance, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index up by 0.4 percent, while Germany's DAX Index and France's CAC 40 Index were down by 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively [7] Commodity Trading - Crude oil futures surged by $1.41 to $63.78 per barrel after a previous decline, while gold futures increased by $5.30 to $3,678.90 per ounce after slipping in the previous session [7] Currency Market - The U.S. dollar is trading at 147.96 yen, up from 147.21 yen, and valued at $1.1705 against the euro, down from $1.1734 [8]