Wall Street futures were lower on Wednesday after the S&P 500 hit a new high in the previous session. Investors will have a chance to weigh in on comments from Fed Chair Adriana Kugler, who will join a chorus of policymakers delivering statements this week on the central bank’s big rate cut last week.
- Futures are going down
US stock futures fell after the benchmark S&P 500 closed at a second straight record high in the previous session.
By 03:26 ET (07:26 GMT), S&P 500 futures were down 12 points, or 0.2%, Dow futures were down 96 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 77 points, or 0.4%.
Key Wall Street averages closed in the green, echoing gains in other global markets after China announced new stimulus measures aimed at reviving activity in the world’s second-largest economy. U.S.-listed Chinese shares jumped, while copper and lithium miners advanced thanks to a rise in metal prices.
However, sentiment was weighed down by a Conference Board report that showed US consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in September amid concerns about the health of the labor market.
- The Fed’s Coogler will speak
US Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Adriana Kugler is expected to speak on Wednesday, with markets keen to see if she will become the latest policymaker to comment on last week’s massive rate cut.
Kugler will give a speech at the Harvard Kennedy School at 16:00 Greek time, according to the Fed. More Fed officials are scheduled to make public statements this week, including Chairman Jerome Powell.
On Tuesday, Fed Governor Michelle Bauman defended her decision to vote against a super-sized 50 basis point rate cut in favor of a more traditional cut of a quarter of a percentage point, noting that headline measures of inflation remain “uncomfortably above » from the Fed’s stated target level.
Her stance contrasted with several other Fed officials earlier this week, who argued that the half-point cut was necessary because high interest rates are putting too much pressure on the economy at a time when inflation appears to be easing and pressures on labor demand is increasing.
- US probes SAP, Carahsoft over possible price fixing – Bloomberg News
The US government has been investigating German software company SAP and product reseller Carahsoft for potentially overcharging government services for at least a decade, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
The Justice Department is investigating whether business software maker SAP illegally conspired with Carahsoft to fix higher prices on sales to the US military and other government agencies, Bloomberg reported, citing federal court documents filed in Baltimore. Research has been ongoing since at least 2022.
Carahsoft — a major software vendor — saw its offices in Virginia raided Tuesday by FBI agents and military investigators.
- Gold hits new high
Gold prices were slightly lower after hitting a new record high on Wednesday.
By 03:28 Greek time, spot gold was down 0.1% at $2,654.31 an ounce. It had earlier touched a record high of $2,670.43 an ounce in Asian trading.
The prospect of lower interest rates has been a key support point for gold as traders appreciate the lower opportunity cost of investing in underperforming assets. Gold also saw some safe-haven demand fueled by heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Comments this week from Fed speakers, as well as the release of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure on Friday, could provide further insight into the path of borrowing costs.
- Oil sinks
Crude prices fell on Wednesday as traders reassessed the potential impact of new monetary stimulus from top importer China.
By 03:30 GMT, Brent was down 0.5% at $74.08 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) were trading 0.7% lower at $71.08 a barrel. .
Both benchmarks rose just under 2 percent on Tuesday after China rolled out its latest barrage of stimulus measures. But traders noted that more help may be needed to bolster the economic outlook of the world’s biggest crude importer, according to Reuters.
A decline in US crude oil inventories provided some support to the market as data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday that crude inventories fell by 4.34 million barrels last week. Official numbers from the Energy Information Administration are expected later in the session.
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Reference;
Kanowsky, S. (2024) Futures lower, new record S&P 500 close, Fed speak – what’s moving markets By Investing.com, Investing.com. Investing.com. Available at: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/futures-lower-new-record-sp-500-close-fed-speak–whats-moving-markets-3631255 (Accessed: 25 September 2024).
