Prospects of a “soft landing,” where the Fed brings down inflation without pushing the economy into recession, have lifted stocks and bonds this year, though signs of a softening labor market have fueled worries that the Fed may be too late in acting to shore up growth.

U.S. equity futures powered firmly higher in early Thursday trading, putting the S&P 500 on pace for a fresh record high, following a big rate cut from the Federal Reserve and forecasts that suggest a soft landing for the world's biggest economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell led his colleagues to an outsize interest-rate cut designed to preserve the strength of the US economy as risks to the labor market mount, marking an end to their single-minded focus on quashing inflation.

American consumers and home buyers, business people and political leaders have been waiting for months for what the Federal Reserve is poised to announce this week: That it’s cutting its key interest rate from a two-decade peak.