Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on May 17, 2024.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Stock futures were slightly higher on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and consumer price index data for May.
Futures Dow Jones Industrial Average It increased by 43 points (0.1%). S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Futures It rose 0.1%.
Oracle The stock rose 9% as traders ignored the company’s latest quarterly miss to estimates and focused on its newly announced cloud deals with Google and OpenAI.
Investors flocked back to Apple on Tuesday, helping to drive the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to new closing highs. The iPhone maker announced its work on artificial intelligence at its developers conference this week, helping to boost its shares. The Dow was the biggest loser among the three major indexes, dropping 0.31%.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting on Wednesday, which will see a decision on interest rate policy followed by a news conference from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Markets are pricing in the Fed keeping its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in the 5.25% to 5.5% range, but markets will be watching for an update to the central bank’s economic outlook summary that could provide clarity on the direction of policy. Investors are increasingly concerned that recent strong employment data and persistently high inflation could support a prolonged high interest rate environment.
“Powell has said any signs of deterioration could prompt rate easing, so any mention of labor market concerns in the Fed statement, the dot plot and Powell’s comments will be something the market will pay attention to,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
The consumer price index for May, a broad measure of the cost of goods and services, is also due to be released on Wednesday morning and is forecast to be up just 0.1% from April and 3.4% from a year earlier.
