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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
Stock futures were slightly lower on Wednesday as Wall Street geared up for the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision on interest rates after closing out a terrible month.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 66 points lower, or down 0.19%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each shed about 0.2%.
In after-hours trading, restaurant operator Yum China Holdings plunged 9.2% after missing revenue estimates for the third quarter, while shares of Tinder parent Match Group fell 6.9% on disappointing revenue guidance for the fourth quarter. Advanced Micro Devices was slightly above flat after posting a beat on earnings and revenue, which reversed its earlier steep declines driven on disappointing fourth-quarter revenue estimates.
The market’s moves come as traders turn their eyes to Washington for the Fed’s latest policy announcement. Central bankers are largely expected to maintain rates steady, with fed funds futures pricing suggests a more than 99% probability that rates will remain at current levels, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The decision is slated for release at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a news conference with Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. ET.
“They’re done with respect to the fed funds rate. They’re certainly not done with respect to their balance sheet. That’s the continuous form of tightening that will continue on,” Peter Boockvar, CIO of Bleakley Advisory Group said on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” “It’s probably going to be a really boring statement … behind the scenes, though, [quantitative tightening] continues. That is taking over for the rate hikes in terms of tightening financial conditions.”
Stocks have rallied so far this week, regaining some footing after a downbeat October which led each of the three major indexes to post their third-straight losing month.
The Dow and the S&P 500 ended the month lower by 1.4% and 2.2%, respectively, marking the first three-month losing streak for both indexes since March 2020. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, declined 2.8% in October.
Although November is a historically strong month for markets, investors are keeping an eye on a peak in bond yields. Earlier this month, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield had crossed the key 5% mark for the first time since 2007, sparking concerns about the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates.
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