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Wall Street trading was quiet and mixed early Wednesday morning as markets awaited hints about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and the timing and number of rate cuts that may occur this year.
Futures for the S&P 500 ranged between modest gains and losses before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1%.
The Fed begins its latest meeting on interest rates on Tuesday and is expected to announce a decision later Wednesday. There are widespread expectations that the central bank will keep its key policy rate unchanged at its highest level in 20 years, but investors are hoping that it will cut rates three times this year, as it signaled several months ago.
The record rally in U.S. stocks is driven in part by hopes of lower interest rates, which will ease pressure on the economy and financial system.But recently report upon inflation have consistently is coming in worse than expected. That could force the Fed to say it will cut rates less this year, and traders have already given up early hopes that the first rate cut of the year will come on Wednesday.
Bank of America strategists expect Fed officials to stick to their outlook, which shows the median member expects three rate cuts in 2024. But it’s a close call, and strategists led by Mark Kavanagh say “risks are skewed toward fewer signals to cut rates.”
In premarket trading Wednesday, cereal and packaged food maker General Mills rose 4% after reporting third-quarter sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations.
Chipotle rose 5.5% after the burrito chain announced its board of directors approved a 50-for-1 stock split, the first in its history. Shares in California-based Chipotle, which were trading at an all-time high of more than $2,797 early Wednesday morning, will be worth around $56 after the split, which is expected to take place in June, pending shareholder approval. Dew. The company said it believes the split will make its shares more available to employees and a broader range of investors.
Intel shares rose 3% after the Biden administration announced it had reached an agreement to provide services to Intel. Up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans to computer chip factories in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon. President Joe Biden He is scheduled to visit Intel’s campus in Arizona later Wednesday to discuss the investment.
In European markets, as of midday, London’s FTSE 100 index was down 0.2% after the UK’s February inflation rate fell below expectations at 3.4%, the lowest level since September 2021. did. This supports expectations for rate cuts in the coming months.
Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% and Paris’ CAC40 fell 0.6%.
Japanese markets were closed for the holiday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan raised the base interest rate For the first time in 17 years, the rate was raised from -0.1% to a range of zero to 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen after comments from the Bank of Japan on the decision suggested that interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan will remain in place for some time. The dollar rose to 151.69 yen from 150.87 yen, trading at a four-month high.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% to 16,557.26, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 3,079.69.
China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged on Wednesday, as expected. Although the economy is showing signs of improvement, the real estate market remains unstable.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 7,695.80, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.3% to 2,690.14 and Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.4%.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 99 cents to $81.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 96 cents to $86.42 a barrel.
The euro fell to $1.0844 from $1.0865.
Bitcoin stabilized at $63,872 after a week of declines.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,178.51, surpassing its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%.
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