US stock futures edged lower on Friday as Wall Street took stock of the US economy from a lofty, record-setting perch ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated decision on interest rates next week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) and S&P 500 futures (ES=F) both fell roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slipped just below the flat line. All three major indexes rallied to records on Thursday, with the Dow (^DJI) closing above 46,000 for the first time.

Investors have taken in several weeks' worth of economic data to gain clues on the Fed's next move. Over the last week, jobs data has shown clear signals of labor market weakness, with just over 20,000 jobs added last month and initial jobless claims surging to a near four-year high.

Meanwhile, inflation remains stubborn, with consumer prices rising last month amid more signs that President Trump's tariffs are filtering their way into the economy. But investors are betting inflation is tame enough for the Fed to cut next week — and then some.

Traders are pricing in a more than 90% chance of a quarter-point cut when the Fed holds its September meeting. Beyond that, around 80% expect the central bank to cut the equivalent of three times before the end of the year.

Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs

Along with stocks, Treasuries rallied on Thursday. The 10-year yield (^TNX) fell to near 4%, around its lowest levels of the year, but recovered slightly on Friday. The 30-year yield (^TYX) ticked up to 4.67%, having dropped below 4.65% the previous session and after touching 5% last week. Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) notched fresh records.

The lead-up to the Fed in the next few days will likely be quieter. But Friday brings an initial reading of consumer sentiment this month from the University of Michigan. Though most signals point to consumer spending holding steady, Americans are souring on their purchasing power — and on the job market as a whole.

Shares in Adobe (ADBE) stepped higher in premarket after the Photoshop maker gave an upbeat revenue forecast for the quarter through November.

The outlook suggested that Adobe is starting to see a payoff from adding AI features to its software tools.

Bloomberg reported:

Sales will be about $6.08 billion to $6.13 billion in the period running through November, the company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated a number at the bottom of that range.

Profit, excluding some items, will be $5.35 to $5.40 a share, compared with the average projection of $5.33. The San Jose, California-based company also boosted its annual forecast.

Adobe has worked to weave artificial intelligence features, often based on its own generative models, into the company’s industry-standard products like Photoshop. That’s now helping spur growth.

Annual recurring revenue from AI-influenced products has surpassed $5 billion, Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen said in the statement. “Adobe is the leader in the AI creative applications category,” he said.

Read more here.

Gold (GC=F) tracked its trajectory for four weeks of consistent gains as rate-cut bet fervour spread from investors to institutions, with bullion-backed ETFs moving heavily toward the haven asset.

Bloomberg reports:

Bullion rose above $3,650 an ounce, up almost 2% this week, after setting a record in Tuesday’s session. Silver, which can move in tandem, topped $42 an ounce to hit the highest since 2011. On Thursday, data showed US consumer prices rose as expected in August, handing Fed policymakers the leeway to reduce borrowing costs after a string of weak labor-market prints.

Traders have priced in at least one quarter-point cut at the Fed’s meeting next week, and possibly two more by the end of the year. The US dollar and 10-year Treasury yields have lost ground this week. Lower borrowing costs, falling yields, and a weaker greenback typically benefit the precious metal.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

OpenAI said it’s closer to converting into a more traditional for-profit company — nearing the resolution of painful negotiations with top shareholder Microsoft Corp. and outlining terms of at least $100 billion in equity for its nonprofit arm.

Planned changes will give the existing OpenAI nonprofit control over a new public benefit corporation, Chairman Bret Taylor said in a statement Thursday. And it would provide the nonprofit with an equity stake that would make it “one of the most well-resourced philanthropic organizations in the world,” he wrote.

“OpenAI started as a nonprofit, remains one today, and will continue to be one — with the nonprofit holding the authority that guides our future,” Taylor said in the statement.

OpenAI plans to give the nonprofit an equity stake of more than $100 billion in the new corporation, which is a floor that could increase, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

That stake would give the company a roughly 20% share of OpenAI — if it closes a deal to let employees sell shares at a valuation of $500 billion. That transaction would make OpenAI the biggest startup in the world.

Read more here.