U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Wednesday over expectations the Federal Reserve could pause its monetary tightening campaign, though concerns over rates staying higher for longer kept investors on edge.
The U.S. central bank is expected to maintain its key rate in the range of 5.25%-5.50% as it concludes its meeting at 2 p.m. ET, with investors focused on economic projections and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments for clues on the outlook for rates and inflation.
Recent economic data has signaled an easing in core inflation, fuelling bets that interest rates have likely peaked, but surging oil prices have clouded the outlook for headline inflation, providing the Fed room to keep rates higher for longer.
“The Fed’s updated projections are likely to show one more hike in 2023, higher growth in 2023/24 but with the aim to stabilize inflation,” said Gabriele Foà, portfolio manager at Algebris Investments.
Uncertainty around the rates trajectory and the impact on the economy sparked a selloff on Tuesday, as Canada’s inflation rate jumped on higher gasoline prices while data showed a steeper-than-expected plunge in U.S. housing starts.
“In the near future, we think economic weakness will take a more central role in the market narrative,” Foà said.
Financial markets have priced in a 99% chance the Fed will pause rates on Wednesday and a near 73% likelihood the central bank will keep them unchanged in November, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Investors were also looking forward to the debut by marketing automation company Klaviyo on the New York Stock Exchange against the backdrop of some recent successful U.S. listings.
Klaviyo had secured a valuation of $9.2 billion in its initial public offering after pricing the shares above their indicated range.
Instacart (CART.O) lost 4.0% in premarket trading after ending 12% higher in its Nasdaq debut on Tuesday, while Arm Holdings shed 1.7%
At 6:57 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 73 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 24.5 points, or 0.16%.
Dollar General (DG.N) fell 1.9% after J.P. Morgan downgraded the discount store operator to “underweight”.
Pinterest (PINS.N) added 3.9% as Citigroup upgraded the image-sharing platform to “buy” from “neutral” and as the firm announced a share buyback of up to $1 billion.
Coty (COTY.N) added 4.5% after the CoverGirl parent raised its annual like-for-like sales forecast.
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