Wall Street indexes set for subdued open ahead of Fed's interest rate verdict
NEW YORK (June 18) Wall Street's main indexes were set for a muted open on Wednesday, ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, as the Israel-Iran conflict that entered its sixth day kept investors on edge.
Investors will closely monitor Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting, scheduled later in the day.
"We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
"So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be really key about where we go from here."
Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves show traders are pricing in about 45 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 55% chance of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX), and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), were close to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk averse.
The S&P 500 index is about 2.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC), remains about 3.3% below their record levels.
Investors have been anxious over the possibility of a more direct U.S. military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war.
A source familiar with internal discussions said U.S. President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, which included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
Oil prices were steady after gaining 4% in the previous session, as markets assessed the chance of supply disruptions in the Middle East.
At 08:38 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 16 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 5 points, or 0.08%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 30.5 points, or 0.14%
Among premarket movers, shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet (CRCL.N), rose 2.9% after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins.
Scholar Rock (SRRK.O), rose 13.7% after the drugmaker said its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), weight-loss treatment.
Shares of steelmaker Nucor (NUE.N), rose 3.3% following a second-quarter profit forecast above estimates.
Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labor market momentum in June.
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