Before the Bell: Futures dip ahead of Fed rate decision

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Wall Street futures fell early Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve making its latest interest rate decision later in the day. Major European markets were slightly positive. TSX Futures were in the red.

Futures tracking the three major US indices all fell in early trading. All three posted solid profits on Tuesday, adding more than 1% to close out a winning month.The S&P 500 rose 6.2% in January for the first time since 2019, and the Nasdaq rose 6.2% in January. of 10.7%.of S&P/TSX Composite Index increased by 7.1%. maximum monthly profit From November 2020.

Wednesday will see the Fed’s latest policy announcement. Markets are widely anticipating a rate hike of a quarter of a percentage point. Traders are watching for signals about what happens next and whether the central bank is close to suspending its tightening campaign. one week before, bank of canada raised by 25 basis points, becoming the first major central bank to show a break after eight consecutive rate hikes.

“Fed officials claim interest rates will stay high for the foreseeable future, but markets simply don’t believe them. inflation Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said in a note:

“This is today’s [Fed chair Jerome] Powell’s press conference is a tricky proposition when it comes to market positioning.” “The danger for the Fed is that the market continues to think rates are likely to fall this year, which could result in inflation picking up again, especially with the labor market this tight. ‘ said.

A rate decision is scheduled for 2:00 pm ET, followed by a press conference.

Meanwhile, revenue continues to flow on both sides of the border.

On Wall Street, Facebook’s parent company Meta reported after the deal closed.

Shares of Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, have fallen more than 14% in pre-market trading following its acquisition of the social media company. lost in the latest quarter. The company also warned that earnings could fall by up to 10% this quarter amid a weakening economy and increasing competition. Profit was $23 million. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 14 cents, beating Wall Street expectations of 11 cents. Results were announced after the close of trading on Tuesday.

In Canada, Montreal-based CGI reported results before trading began.The company said the first quarter Earnings per share increased $1.60 in the most recent quarter from $1.49 a year earlier. Excluding certain items, CGI said it posted diluted earnings of $1.66 per share, up from $1.50 diluted a year earlier. Earnings for the quarter increased to $3.45 billion from last year’s $3.09 billion.

On the other hand, the Canadian Pacific Railway say you earned $1.27 billion or $136 million per share in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $532 million or $74 million in the same period in 2021.

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.30% by noon. The UK FTSE 100 was up 0.23%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were up 0.39% and 0.30% respectively.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.07%. Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.05%.

merchandise

Oil prices swayed as traders awaited the outcome of the Fed’s latest policy meeting and reflected decisions by OPEC+ on key output.

Brent dates ranged from $85.25 to $86.21 in the early premarket. The West Texas Intermediate ranged him from $78.83 to $79.73.

“Oil markets are waiting for major events, both the FOMC decision and the OPEC+ meeting on production,” said Ed Moya, senior analyst at OANDA.

Members of the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Oversight Committee have met virtually today. As expected, the group recommended not changing the current output level. The group will meet again in April.

Reuters reports that OPEC oil production fell in January as Iraqi exports fell and Nigerian output failed to recover. Ten OPEC member countries are 920,000 barrels per day (bpd) below their target under the OPEC+ agreement. This shortfall was bigger than his 780,000 bpd deficit in December.

Later in the day, the market gets weekly US inventory numbers from the US Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories rose by about 6.3 million barrels last week than the market expected, according to an earlier report from the American Petroleum Institute.

Meanwhile, gold prices fell as traders waited for the Fed’s decision.

Spot gold fell 0.2% to US$1,924.26 per ounce by early Wednesday morning after falling to its lowest level since January 19 in the previous session. US gold futures fell 0.3% to his $1,939.70.

currency

The Canadian dollar has stabilized, trading around US$75 early Wednesday morning, but its US counterpart fell against its global counterpart ahead of this afternoon’s Fed policy decision. .

Looney’s day ranged from 75.03 US cents to 75.26 US cents in the early premarket period.

There were no major Canadian economic releases scheduled for Wednesday.

In global markets, the US Dollar Index, which measures the US currency against six major peers, fell 0.15% to 101.96 by Wednesday morning. It also fell in the previous session, partly due to a report showing that U.S. labor costs rose in the fourth quarter, the slowest pace in his year, according to Reuters.

The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0885 while the British pound was flat at $1.2320 as traders await Thursday’s interest rate decision by the European Central Bank.

See more company news

TC Energy Co., Ltd. On Wednesday, it said it estimated the cost to complete the troubled coastal gas link project would be $14.5 billion, up from the previously pegged $11.2 billion.

Intel said it has slashed salaries for its employees and executives a week after it announced lower-than-expected sales forecasts due to a loss of market share to competitors and a sluggish PC market. The cuts range from his 5% of base salaries for mid-level employees to up to 25% of his CEO Pat Gelsinger’s, but the company’s hourly wages won’t be cut, a person familiar with the matter said. told a person who was not to speak publicly. –Reuters

Peloton Interactive Inc. The fitness equipment maker reported on Wednesday that cash burning slowed in the second quarter after it implemented a number of cost-cutting measures, including job cuts and store closures. Recorded a cash loss of $94.4 million to dollar losses. –Reuters

economic news

(8:15 am ET) US ADP National Employment Report for January.

(9:30 am ET) Canadian S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for January.

(10am) US ISM Manufacturing PMI for January.

(10 a.m. ET) US construction spending in January.

(10 a.m. ET) December U.S. Jobs and Turnover Survey.

(2:00 PM ET) Followed by the US Fed’s announcement and Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference.

With Reuters and Canadian Press