Stock futures mixed as investors focus on Fed policy meeting

2021 will produce ‘good’ earnings reports: Investor Mark Mobius

Mobius Capital Partners founder Mark Mobius argues this year will produce ‘good earnings reports’ because the economic recovery ‘will be greater than people imagined.’

U.S. equity futures are pointing to a mixed open when the Wednesday trading session begins.

Continue Reading Below

Dow futures suggest a decline of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq indicates a gain of 0.5%.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Microsoft shares are giving the Nasdaq a boost after the software giant said its fiscal second-quarter net income rose more than 30% to $15.5 billion. Sales advanced 17% to $43.1 billion. Both figures topped analyst expectations.  Shares were up 4% in after-hours trading.

The Fed is expected to keep its extremely supportive policy stance unchanged given the slow progress in vanquishing the pandemic, analysts said.

BOND MARKET WATCHING FOR ONGOING FED REASSURANCE ON PURCHASES

Markets have meandered since last week as investors weighed solid corporate earnings results against renewed worries that troubles with COVID-19 vaccine rollouts and the spread of new variants of coronavirus might delay a recovery from the pandemic.

The reality that President Joe Biden’s $1.9 billion stimulus package won’t be “rubber stamped” by the U.S. Senate is also weighing on sentiment.

Quarterly earnings reports are expected on Wednesday from Boeing, AT&T, Apple, Facebook and Tesla.

JANET YELLEN OUTLINES GOALS FOR US ECONOMY FOLLOWING CONFIRMATION AS TREASURY SECRETARY

On the economic calendar, the Census Bureau is expected to say that new orders for manufactured big-ticket items rose 0.9% month-over-month in December. If you factor out the transportation component orders are anticipated to edge up 0.5%. Orders for core capital goods, a closely-watched proxy for business spending, are also seen rising 0.6% for the month.

In europe, London's FTSE was off 0.1%, Germany's DAX slipped 0.3% and France's CAC added 0.2%.

In Asian markets, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index added 0.3%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.3% and China's Shanghai Composite index gained 0.1%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 30937.04 -22.96 -0.07%
SP500 S&P 500 3849.62 -5.74 -0.15%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 13626.064934 -9.93 -0.07%
Powered by

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% to 3,849.62 but was within 0.2% of the record high it set Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1%, to 30,937.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite also slid 0.1%, to 13,626.06.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 35 cents to $52.96 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up 16 cents to $52.77 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 37 cents to $56.28 per barrel.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Source: Read Full Article