Today’s stock market: Dow, S and P 500, and Nasdaq futures gain as Wall Street prepares for the Fed’s following rate action
US equities were flat before the bell on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision, hoping to get insight into the economy in the face of tariff worries.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) remained near the flat line. Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) were similarly slightly changed after the significant gauges failed to make a return on Tuesday, with technology leading the decline. Investors are turning to the Fed as a catalyst in the stock market’s bid to recover from its recent steep sell-off. The central bank is widely anticipated to keep interest rates unchanged in its policy meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
With rate reduction ruled out for March, the spotlight is on Fed members’ “dot plot” — where they believe interest rates will move next — and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference to establish expectations for future easing. “Powell post-FOMC will have to reassure markets that growth remains healthy and inflation’s trajectory still points to 2% as confidence wanes amid stagflation or outright recession fears,” Evercore ISI’s Julian Emanuel said in a note to investors. Rising fears about US economic growth, inflation, and President Trump’s increasing trade conflict have shifted the emphasis to the Fed.
