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Investing.com — U.S. stock futures weakened on Wednesday as investors preferred to take a cautious approach ahead of the Federal Reserve’s crucial latest meeting.
As of 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT), the contract was down 100 points or 0.3%, traded 15 points or 0.4% lower and fell 50 points or 0.4%.
The main indexes on Wall Street closed with gains on Tuesday, trying to regain their positions at the end of October.
Blue chips fell 1.4% last month and broad-based fell 2.2%, resulting in their first three-month losing streak since March 2020. -fell a massive 2.8%, its worst October since 2018.
Fed’s policy decision in headlines
Investors are concerned that interest rates could be kept at high levels or even higher for longer than previously expected, especially in light of last week’s strong growth data.
The US central bank will conclude its latest two-day policy meeting at the end of the session. Investors widely expect the Fed to keep rates steady, and the Chairman’s comments will again make headlines as investors analyze his every word to speculate whether another interest rate hike will occur later this year. Is going to.
Jobs data to come before Friday’s major report
There are plenty of economic releases to digest on Wednesday, including October, September data as well as {{ecl-173| |ISM}} and survey for October.
These come ahead of Friday’s meeting, which will give the Fed and investors a new detailed look at the still-tight labor market situation.
Investors will also keep an eye on the country’s future refinancing plans, with yields near historic highs even though the U.S. Treasury projected less borrowing needs in the fourth quarter than previously expected.
Earning season continues
There are several notable companies due to report earnings during the session, including fintech PayPal (NASDAQ:), food giant Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:), Home. and vacation share company Airbnb (NASDAQ:), chip makers Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) and Mondelez (NASDAQ:), maker of Oreo cookies and other packaged foods.
Elsewhere, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) stock slipped 2% in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported fourth-quarter revenue and gross margin that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
Match Group (NASDAQ:) stock fell more than 7% in the premarket after the Tinder parent offered disappointing revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.
Oil rises before Fed’s decision
Oil prices rose on Wednesday in cautious trading ahead of the conclusion of the latest Fed meeting, with traders also closely monitoring the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
As of 06:50 ET, {{8849|U.S. Crude oil futures were trading 1.3% higher at $82.10 a barrel, while contracts rose 1.3% to $86.14. Both contracts fell more than 1% in the previous session, and also fell more than 10% in October, their worst month since May.
Data from the industry body indicated on Tuesday that US oil stockpiles rose by 1.3 million barrels last week, slightly less than expected.
Official data will come at the end of the session.
Additionally, it fell 0.2% to $1,991.35/ounce, while trading 0.2% lower at $1.0552.
