US pre-open: Traders jittery ahead of Fed decision, 'dot plot' in focus
Citigroup Inc.
$61.51
06:15 25/04/24
US stock market futures are little changed ahead of the result of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday, as traders try to anticipate if anything will really change.
Against that backdrop, as of 1110 BST, Wall Street futures were trading in mixed fashion, with those tracking the S&P 500 slipping 2.0 points to 4,234.50, while the Nasdaq-100 mini contract was 13 points higher at 14,034.75.
Only minor changes were anticipated in the central bank's policy statement, but economists at Barclays Research told clients it was a "close call" whether the Fed's top officials still expected the first interest rate hike not to occur until the end of 2023.
Nevertheless, top Fed officials had already flagged in speeches ahead of the meeting that discussions on whether asset purchases should begin tapered might start soon - even if actual tapering was still some ways off.
For Sophie Griffiths at Oanda, the impact of the Fed's remarks could be felt in foreign exchange markets.
"Should the Fed stick unwaveringly to its supportive stance, the US dollar could fall steeply," Griffiths said.
"Meanwhile, any acknowledgement that taper talk needs to begin, and the greenback could shoot higher, with EUR/USD dropping to around 1.20."
In the corporate arena, overnight Citigroup chief financial officer, Mark Mason, told a conferenced hosted by Morgan Stanley that trading revenues could fall by around 30% in the second quarter as the pandemic-fuelled boom slows down.
Regeneron shares were 0.74% higher in pre-market trading after a large trial showed that its antibody cocktail cut the risk of death among Covid-19 patients in the hospital by 20%.
WalkMe's initial public offering had reportedly been priced to go at $31 per share, versus an anticipated IPO range of $29 to $32.