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Stock market UPDATE: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures stall as Wall Street braces for Fed decision
While a rate cut is seen as a done deal, the trajectory of interest rates going forward is less certain. Consequently, investors will also be watching for the release of the Fed's "dot-plot," which will offer insight into how many cuts the central bank anticipates for the rest of 2025.
By Correspondent
US stock futures faltered on Wednesday in the countdown to the end of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, overwhelmingly expected to usher in the first US interest-rate cut of 2025, according to reporting by Yahoo News.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) fluctuated along the flat line, after the major US gauges ended Tuesday little changed. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) nudged down less than 0.1%.
It announced that the Wall Street was however confident the Fed will announce a rate cut on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Analysts expect a slowdown in the labor market to convince policymakers to reduce rates, despite an uptick in inflation. Traders are pricing in a 96% chance of a 25 basis-point cut and a 4% chance of a jumbo reduction.
In addition to the Fed decision, investors will receive new data on housing starts as well as earnings from General Mills (GIS) and Cracker Barrel (CBRL). Cracker Barrel made headlines earlier this month following controversy over its now-abandoned logo change.