In the morning session of Asian markets on Wednesday, U.S. stock index futures remained largely unmoved with market players eyeing the Federal Reserve’s anticipated decision on December interest rates.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures saw a modest rise of 61 points or 0.14%, while S&P 500 futures edged up by 0.08%. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures managed a slight increase of 0.03%.
During the regular trading session, the Dow experienced a decline of 267.58 points, or 0.61%, marking its longest losing streak since 1978 at nine consecutive days. The S&P 500 decreased by 0.39%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.32%.
These declines took place as investors await the Federal Open Market Committee’s upcoming policy announcement scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Current trading in fed funds futures presents a 95% likelihood of a 25 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve, as predicted by the CME FedWatch tool.
Market participants are keenly focused on the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections and the subsequent press conference led by Chair Jerome Powell. Many expect the central bank to moderate repeated calls for further rate reductions in the coming year, as persistent inflation remains a concern.
