Dow Set to Open Up, End Losing Streak; Super Micro, Micron, Honda, Nissan, More Movers; Fed Rate Decision
It’s Fed decision day–but there is plenty more to concern investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is skidding, with artificial-intelligence darling Nvidia among the stocks dragging it down.
Futures tracking the blue-chip index ticked up 60 points, or 0.1%, on Wednesday as it bids to snap its longest losing streak in nearly half a century. If the Dow falls today, it will have dropped 10 days straight, which would be its worst run since October 1974.
S&P 500 futures were also up 0.2%, with the index going through a spell of bad breadth–more large-cap U.S. stocks have fallen than have risen every day this month. Contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.1%.
The Fed’s final policy decision of 2024 could revive the slumping Dow–or worsen the mood on Wall Street. While the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates for the third meeting in a row, investors will be closely watching Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference—which could offer clues as to where borrowing costs are headed next year.
“There’s an expectation that the central bank will go slower next year, given the strength of the US economy…Powell will be watched closely later for clues as to the pace of further monetary easing, although guidance is likely to be limited given the unpredictability Donald Trump’s policy making,” Hargreaves Lansdown’s head of money and markets Susannah Streeter said.
The Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Norway’s Norges Bank and Sweden’s Riksbank are all set to announce policy decisions of their own on Thursday, so the central-banking intrigue won’t end with the Fed.
Oil prices ticked up as traders weighed up how a Fed rate cut and tightening sanctions on Russia could affect crude supply. The Brent international benchmark rose 0.5% to $73.54 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate U.S. prices rose 0.6% to $70.50 a barrel.
Bond yields were largely unchanged over the past 24 hours. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 4.396%, and the 2-year note was yielding 4.251%.
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2024-12-18 09:03:43
