Stock Futures Point to Flat Wall Street Open With Fed Minutes Ahead
New York (May 24) Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday morning as investors awaited the afternoon release of Federal Reserve minutes, an insight into the central bank's thinking ahead of its next meeting in June.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.03%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, and Nasdaq futures grew 0.08%.
The central bank opted to leave rates unchanged at its meeting on May 2-3, though signaled a willingness to move on rates sooner than later. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee noted that economic growth had slowed, though fundamentals remained solid. The committee viewed slowing growth in the first quarter as transitory..
Markets already have high expectations for a move at the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the second of three expected rate increases this year. Wall Street has priced in a nearly 79% chance of a 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate when the FOMC meets June 13-14, according to CME Group fed funds futures.
Also on the economic calendar Wednesday, the FHFA House Price Index for March is set for 9 a.m. EDT, existing home sales for April will be released shortly after market open, while the Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum status report is scheduled for mid-morning.
Moody's lowered the credit rating for China, the world's second-largest economy, amid concerns for rising debt levels and slowing growth. Moody's clipped China's rating by one notch, taking it to A1 from a previous grade of Aa3, marking the country's first downgrade in nearly 30 years.
The credit agency said the new rating outlook is stable, however, and that the country remains resilient to negative shocks and that growth is likely to remain comparably strong in the near-term. However, Moody's said the downgrade "reflects the expectation that China's financial strength will erode somewhat over the coming years, with economy-wide debt continuing to rise as potential growth slows."
Source: TheStreet
