financetom
Market
financetom
/
Market
/
US STOCKS-Futures drift lower as focus shifts to rate verdict
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
US STOCKS-Futures drift lower as focus shifts to rate verdict
Apr 30, 2024 3:03 AM

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

*

Futures down: Dow 0.07%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.13%

April 30 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Wall Street's main

indexes were subdued on Tuesday as investors refrained from

placing big bets ahead of the interest rate decision at the end

of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, with more earnings

updates on tap.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will commence its

two-day meeting later in the day, with markets focused on the

interest rate verdict and Chair Jerome Powell's remarks.

Money markets are largely expecting the central bank to stay

pat on interest rates this meeting, while pricing in just about

35 basis points (bps) of rate cuts this year, down from about

150 bps estimated at the start of the year, according to LSEG

data.

"Although the world's largest economy slowed more sharply

than expected in the first three months of the year, key

inflation readings show inflation remains stubborn and that's

dashed hopes for early and multiple rate cuts," Susannah

Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown,

said.

"If interest rates do linger for a lot longer, it (raises)

concerns about the growth prospects for the engine of the global

economy."

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with sharp gains for

Tesla and Apple.

Tesla shares were down 2.3% in premarket trading on

Tuesday, following its 15% surge in the previous session after a

report that CEO Elon Musk has dismissed two senior executives

and plans to lay off hundreds more employees.

U.S. equities have had a rough April as persistent

inflationary pressures sharply pulled back bets on interest rate

cuts, while heightened tensions in the Middle East and earnings

updates also added to the volatility.

All three U.S. stock indexes are poised to record their

first monthly loss in six.

Also in focus is the quarterly earnings season, with

companies such as Eli Lilly ( LLY ), Coca-Cola and 3M ( MMM )

, among others, scheduled to report results before the

opening bell.

At 05:32 a.m., Dow E-minis were down 28 points, or

0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 7 points, or 0.14%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 22.75 points, or 0.13%.

Coursera ( COUR ) shed 12.7% premarket after the online

learning platform forecast its full-year revenue below market

estimates.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved