Stock market next week: Outlook for December 8

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve's final meeting of 2025 to see if the central bank will deliver the interest rate cut the market expects and, especially, what chair Jerome Powell says afterward about the outlook for monetary policy. After recent economic data revealed that inflation hasn't reignited and the labor market is showing signs of weakness, traders are confident the Fed will lower its key overnight lending rate a quarter percentage point. Interest rate futures trading suggests close to a 90% certainty the Fed policy rate will come down next week, according to the CME Group FedWatch tool . Trust in another rate cut — it would mark the Fed's third this year and bring the federal funds rate to 3.50%-3.75% – helped send the stock market higher this week. All three major averages s