The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to see initial strength following the lackluster performance seen during last Friday’s session.

Stocks may benefit from optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting interest rates, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 97.1 percent chance the central bank will lower rates by another 25 basis points.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to the Fed’s accompanying statement as well as officials’ latest economic projections, including their forecasts for rates.

Recent data showing inflation remains sticky has led to some worries the Fed will lower rates slower than previously anticipated next year.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing a sharp pullback by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.

After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

The Dow dipped 86.06 points or 0.2 percent to 43,828.06, closing lower for the seventh consecutive session. The S&P 500 edged down 0.16 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,051.09, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 23.88 points or 0.1 percent to 19,926.72.

The major averages also turned in a mixed performance for the week. While the Nasdaq rose by 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 slid by 0.6 percent and the narrower Dow tumbled by 1.8 percent.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), with the chipmaker soaring by 24.4 percent on the day.

The spike by Broadcom came after the company reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings and said it expects continued strong demand for its custom AI chips.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve meeting.

On the economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged higher in the month of November.

Gold stocks extended the sell-off seen in the previous session amid a continued slump by the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.7 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among steel stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbling by 2.6 percent to its lowest closing level in almost three months.

Computer hardware, airline and housing stocks also saw notable weakness, while semiconductor and networking stocks showed strong moves to the upside.

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