US Stock Futures Fluctuate as Oil Continues Its Slide, US Election Tightens
New York (Nov 2) Stock futures moved lower as crude oil continued to decline, worries over the U.S. presidential election persisted and the Federal Reserve prepared to wrap up its two-day meeting.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.05%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.12%, and Nasdaq futures were flat.
Crude oil prices were sharply lower on Wednesday on fears a weekly reading on crude inventories would show a big jump. The American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude stockpiles grew by 9.3 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 28. Official data from the Energy Information Administration to be released mid-morning is expected to confirm this build. Prices were already under pressure on fading hopes major oil producers, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, would agree to a production freeze deal.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.6% to $45.91 a barrel on Wednesday morning.
The Federal Open Market Committee will conclude its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday afternoon, but will not hold a press conference. The Fed's policy-making group is expected to stand pat on rates.
"The equity markets appear to be looking past this week's FOMC meeting, and instead are focusing on the U.S. election," Greg Woodard, senior analyst at Manning & Napier, told TheStreet. "Once the election passes, focus will likely shift to the December FOMC meeting, with consensus pricing in a more-likely-than-not decision by the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 bps."
Stocks suffered a dismal start to the month on Tuesday as conflicting polls bred uncertainty over the upcoming presidential election. An NBC/SurveyMonkey poll showed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 6-point lead remained after concerns over her emails were raised again on Friday. A separate ABC poll showed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with a 1-point lead. U.S. voters will head to the polls on Nov. 8.
Source: TheStreet
