Investors hope the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes will provide new insight into officials’ expectations for future interest-rate increases
U.S. stock futures edged lower as investors awaited another batch of earnings from retailers and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.7% Wednesday, suggesting the benchmark could edge lower after three consecutive sessions of gains. Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, while those for technology-focused Nasdaq-100 declined 0.8%.
VIX, VIXmain rose 3.5% and 0.98% separately.
Gold slid 0.2% and stood at $1786.9.
Stocks have mounted a furious climb higher recently as investors reassessed expectations that inflation and an economic slowdown could keep share prices falling this year. The S&P 500 has jumped 17% from its June low as investors have reshuffled portfolios and scrambled to cover bearish wagers.
A series of strong earnings reports, as well as data last week showing U.S. inflation eased in July, have spurred much of the recent optimism. Lowe’s shares inched higher premarket after it reported quarterly earnings, following strong results Tuesday from Walmart and Home Depot. U.S. retail sales data are also due before the opening bell. Later Wednesday, earnings are due from companies including Cisco Systems and Bath & Body Works.
Minutes from the Fed’s recent meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET, could offer more details about the pace of future interest-rate increases. Federal-funds futures, used by traders to place bets on the course of rates, recently showed expectations were almost evenly split on the possibility of a 0.5- or 0.75-percentage-point interest-rate hike in September, according to CME Group. Investors are pricing in a 49% chance that the Fed acts more aggressively with a 0.75-percentage-point increase, the data show, up from 41% Tuesday.
“We’re all waiting for the Fed minutes,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. “Like everyone, I’m scratching my head about whether we are experiencing the comeback of a bull market, or if it is just a bear-market rally.”
In commodities, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, gained 0.6% to $92.88 a barrel.
Yields on government bonds moved higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 2.860%, from 2.822% Tuesday. Yields rise when bond prices decline. Meanwhile, the yield on the 2-year note rose to 3.289%, from 3.249%, keeping the yield curve inverted. That bond-market signal has historically been considered a key recession predictor.
Overseas, European stock indexes mostly fell. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.2%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 0.2%. The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer prices were 10.1% higher in July than the year before, up from 9.4% in June.Investors sold U.K. government bonds, reflecting expectations that the Bank of England will need to further raise interest rates to tame inflation. The British pound edged 0.1% higher against the dollar.
In Asia, stocks moved higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5%, China’s Shanghai Composite rose about 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.2%.
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