U.S. Futures Mixed as Investors Await Fed Meeting
As investors eagerly await the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week, U.S. futures traded mixed on Monday morning. The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were up by about 0.62% and 0.29%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was down 0.09%.
Last week, all three major indices experienced slight losses, coinciding with higher-than-anticipated core and wholesale inflation data for February. This data has dampened investor sentiment and raised concerns that the Fed may maintain a more hawkish stance on interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting on March 19-20.
Economist Kathy Bostjancic of Nationwide Mutual Insurance predicts no major changes to interest rate plans, citing recent high inflation data as a deterrent to near-term rate cuts by the central bank. She anticipates that the Fed may slightly raise its inflation prediction for this year.
Investors are also eagerly awaiting the release of the Building Permits and Housing Starts report for February, as well as the preliminary readings of the Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) and Services PMI for March. Key companies such as Micron, FedEx, and Nike are set to report earnings this week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down, hovering near 4.3%, while WTI crude oil futures trended higher, reaching around $81.59 per barrel.
In Asia-Pacific markets, indices ended higher on Monday, buoyed by better-than-expected Chinese retail sales and industrial production data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed higher by 0.11%, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices ended up by 0.99% and 1.46%, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices also rallied significantly.
As European indices are expected to open muted today, all eyes are on the U.S. Fed’s upcoming monetary policy meeting. Stay tuned for more economic insights and updates.
