U.S. stock index futures were trading slightly lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s semi-annual speech to Congress on the economy and possibly interest rate direction.
How are stock-index futures trading?
-
S&P 500 index futures
ES00,
-0.24%
were down 1.25 points at 4,433.25 -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-0.20%
slipped 12 basis points at 34,344 -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
-0.32%
slipped 10 points to 15,246
On Tuesday, the Dow Industrials
DJIA,
ended down 245.25 points, or 0.7%, to 34,053.87, the S&P 500
SPX,
dropped 20.88 points, or 0.5%, to 4,388.71, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
decreased 22.28 points, or 0.2%, to 13,667.29.
What’s driving markets?
Investors spent Tuesday dialing stocks back from levels not seen in more than a year last week, with some analysts concerned markets may have gotten ahead of themselves.
Markets are hoping for fresh insights from Powell, who will appear before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, followed by an appearance in front of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday in a semi-annual report on monetary policy.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged last week, but many economists think a further rate hike could be coming at the central bank’s July meeting, with two more increases penciled in for this year.
“After the hawkish hold last week, there appears to be minimal new information for Powell to add any significant new direction on monetary policy. He may continue to signal more rate hikes, but Republicans would get the stage to express their concerns around the sticky core inflation while Democrats advocate for a more dovish policy given the rising risks to economy,” said the Saxo Bank strategy team, in a note to clients.
Investors will also hear from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who is due to speak at 12:25 p.m. Eastern.
Shares of FedEx Corp.
FDX,
fell 3% in premarket trading after the logistics company’s full-year profit forecast fell short of expectations.
Companies in focus
-
FedEx Corp.
FDX,
-0.78%
dropped nearly 3% in premarket trading after the logistics company’s full-year profit forecast fell short of expectations. -
Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+5.34%
stock rose 1.3% in premarket trading. The EV maker’s chief executive Elon Musk met Tuesday with India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi, and said his company will be in India “as soon as humanly possible.” -
Nio Inc.
NIO,
-0.53%
rose 2% after a near 4% gain in Hong Kong as the Chinese electric-vehicle maker unveiled plans for an investment of more than $1 billion from an Abu Dhabi government-backed fund.
