All eyes on the Fed and its interest rate guidance . . . . . . . . . . . The Federal Reserve should be Wednesday’s catalyst with markets muddling before the decision. However, there are number of company news keeping some investors busy. Market players are watching interest rates closely and as today the Fed ends its two-day policy meeting, markets should get more signals about where rates are heading. The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee ends its two day meeting at 02:00 p.m. ET and is highly expected to go on cutting its asset-purchase program. Fed Chief Janet Yellen will speak at a press conference after the decision, and after the release of the Committee’s economic projections. Markets will be closely watching the “dot plot”, the Fed policy makers’ own straw poll, as investors try to conclude whether interest rates will be going up sooner than expected. Most investors expect a rise somewhere in the mid of 2015. A rise in rates before that could rattle markets or even hamper economic growth. A delay in the rate hike could cause bubbles. U.S. stock futures were slightly changed ahead of the open. -Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.018% to 16732 -Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.021% to 1934.20 -Futures on the NASDAQ 100 gained 0.152% to 3778.00 . As of 07:44 a.m. ET U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, led by the tech-heavy NASDAQ which was up almost 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 also made gains. Oil prices were up 0.32% at $106.7 on the Nymex. Oil prices rose by about $4 a barrel last week as an offensive by Islamic militants in northern Iraq raised fears about exports from OPEC`s second-biggest producer. 10-year Treasury yield was up 1.1 basis points at 2.641%. Trading should be quiet ahead of the Fed’s decision. However a number of major companies were on the move ahead of the bell. Adobe is the premarket main mover, with shares up 9% before the opening. The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results late Tuesday. Giant retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) were up around 1% in European trading after reporting its financial results. Shares in Amazon could be active as CEO Jeff Bezos is expected to unveil a still-unknown product with big expectations it will be a high-end Smartphone. The announcement will be made near the company’s Seattle headquarters. FedEx will report quarterly earnings before the bell. General Motors shares could be on the move as CEO Mary Barra returns to Capitol hill to vow again to take any steps necessary to avoid another recall crisis. Anton Valukas, the former federal prosecutor who conducted a recent GM probe, will also be testifying. European stock markets were moving up in morning trading, though the gains were small. Russia`s main index rose by about 0.7% after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the possibility of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The ruble was inching up versus the U.S. dollar. Investors will continue to watch Argentinean markets, since many hold fears the country could be close to defaulting on its debt. #egyptyard
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 12:55:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015