SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI) shares are trading higher Monday, hitting a new 52-week high as Wall Street extended record gains, with investors positioning ahead of this week's key Federal Reserve meeting. Optimism is building that policymakers could deliver a potential 25-basis-point rate cut, lowering the federal funds rate to 4.00%–4.25%.

What To Know: Markets are also pricing in a high likelihood of additional cuts at the Fed's October and December meetings, even as inflation remains sticky at 2.9% in August, the highest level since January. At the same time, jobless claims spiked to 263,000, their worst print since 2021, signaling strains in the labor market.

Despite stagflation fears, major U.S. benchmarks, the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq-100, surged to record highs last week, fueling demand for growth stocks like SoFi. Investors appear to be betting that easier monetary policy will outweigh economic headwinds and support fintech lending momentum.

Lower rates can spur refinancing and origination across SoFi's personal, student-loan and mortgage products, while also easing credit stress for borrowers. As a bank-funded lender, SoFi's cost of deposits should decline with policy rates, potentially boosting volumes even if net interest margins compress modestly.

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