MW: U.S. stock futures climb with key Fed meeting in focus
Wall Street was on track to break a five-session run of losses on Tuesday, shaking off China’s continuing rout, as stock futures tilted higher ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting.
Investors were also waiting for fresh consumer-confidence figures, home-price data and earnings from Ford Motor Co. F, +1.11% and Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.23% among others.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU5, +0.50% rose 64 points, or 0.4%, to 17,460, while those for the S&P 500 index ESU5, +0.57% added 8.60 points, or 0.4%, to 2,073. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NQU5, +0.49% picked up 13.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,536.25.
The gains came after all three averages closed firmly lower on Monday, tracking a global selloff that was spurred by an 8.5% slide in the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -1.68% its largest one-day loss in eight years.
The Chinese benchmark continued its rout on Tuesday, although the daily loss was smaller at 1.7%. Read: With China, stock market manipulation goes global
Fed meeting: Closer to home, investors were closely watching the two-day Federal Reserve meeting that kicks off on Tuesday. A statement is due at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, likely to be scrutinized for clues to the timing of a rate hike.
Chairwoman Janet Yellen has previously indicated that a rate increase is on the cards before the end of the year, possibly as early as September.
However, expectations for a September move have faded recently, partly because of the market turmoil in China and a slide in oil prices.
“The Fed will surely bring the Chinese selloff and commodity rout under their consideration and will tailor their response accordingly. We do not think that Yellen will fan the fire any further by bringing the exact timeline for a rate hike. In fact, there is a strong possibility that she may water down those expectations and use a very dovish approach,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note.
Read: Fed is closer to a September rate hike than many think, says FedWatch’s Tim Duy
The dollar traded mixed against other major currencies ahead of the Fed meeting, with the ICE dollar index DXY, +0.15% inching 0.2% higher to 96.736.
Data: Consumer-confidence numbers for July are due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. They are forecast to show a drop to 99.1 from 101.4 in June, according to economists polled by MarketWatch.
