US stocks set to pull back as Fed decision nears
New York (Sept 17) Wall Street looked headed for a slightly lower start at the open on Thursday, as investors looked prepared to take no chances ahead of the biggest announcement from the Federal Reserve in years.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ5, -0.20% fell 22 points to 16,642 and those for the S&P 500 ESZ5, -0.24% dropped 3.5 points to 1,984.50. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index NQZ5, +0.52% slipped 4.75 points to 4,376.25.
U.S. stocks finished near session highs on Wednesday, as investors continued to focus on whether the Federal Open Market Committee will raise interest rates Thursday. The Dow industrials DJIA, +0.84% and S&P 500 index SPX, +0.87% have managed to carve out gains of nearly 2% so far this week, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.59% is up 1.4%.
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A slew of data is coming before that Fed decision, including a report on weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Data on August housing starts and building permits, and the second-quarter current-account deficit, are due the same time. The Philadelphia Fed’s index of business conditions for September will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.
The FOMC’s statement is set to come at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, at the conclusion of the policy makers’ two-day meeting. A news conference with Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen follows at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
Also: Five things to listen for during Janet Yellen’s news conference
The Fed decision is an extremely close call for markets, though the yield on the 2-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD02Y, -0.97% shot to a 4-year high on Tuesday, indicating that bond investors are readying for a hike.
“Even on a no-change outcome, we’re going to see volatility, both on the statement and the subsequent news conference given by Yellen,” said Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro, in a note.
Stocks to watch: Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp. CVC, +16.50% were up in thin premarket trading after European cable group Altice SA ATC, +2.71% said it would buy the U.S. company for around $10 billion, or $34.90 a share. Including debt, the deal has an enterprise value of $17.7 billion.
Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.11% could draw some attention after Recode said the iPhone maker bought Mapsense for $25 to $30 million.
Rite Aid Corp. RAD, -3.73% will report results ahead of the bell, while Adobe Systems Inc. ADBE, +1.26% earnings are due after the market close.
Other markets: Caution prevailed across Europe, where the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.00% flattened out. Asian stocks were mixed, with a 1.4% gain for the Nikkei 225 index NIK, +1.43% but a late session slide for the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -2.10% that left it 2.1% lower.
Oil CLV5, -1.08% pulled back 1.2% after finishing sharply higher on Wednesday, a move triggered by an unexpected drop in crude stockpiles. That came as the dollar DXY, -0.12% firmed up versus major rivals.
Source: MarketWatch
