NEW YORK, Jan 10 — Wall Street’s main stock indexes were on course for a subdued open today as investors avoided big bets ahead of inflation reports and earnings from major lenders later in the week.
Equities have remained range-bound since the turn of the year, as investors reassess their expectations of the timing and the pace of monetary policy easing following contrasting economic data and mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials.
All eyes are now on the December consumer and producer inflation reports, due on Thursday and Friday, respectively, which could help determine the monetary policy trajectory for the central bank.
“Unless you see inflation come in higher than expected, which is unlikely, there is going to be an inclination to move sooner rather than later (on rate cuts),” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital.
Market participants have scaled back expectations for at least a 25-basis-point rate cut in March, and currently see a near 66 per cent chance, down from around 86 per cent in the last week of 2023, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Investors will closely monitor comments by New York Fed President John Williams — considered a neutral voice on policy by analysts — scheduled to speak later in the day.
Meanwhile, on Friday, banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are expected to report lower fourth-quarter profits, as they set money aside to cover souring loans and paid more to depositors.
The lenders slipped between 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent in premarket trading on Wednesday.
“The secret to happiness is low expectations, and that’s exactly what we have going into earning seasons,” Hayes added.
At 8.46am ET, Dow e-minis were down 9 points, or 0.02 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.04 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.05 per cent.
Chip stocks Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel gained between 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent after TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations.
Crypto stocks including Coinbase, Bitfarms and Riot Platforms fell between 2.8 per cent and 3.0 per cent, as prices of the world’s most valued cryptocurrency, Bitcoin , dipped after the US securities regulator said a fake social media message was posted on its account regarding the eagerly awaited approval of exchange traded funds.
Boeing inched up 0.3 per cent, recovering from a 9.3 per cent tumble in the last two sessions. CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged errors by the US planemaker as more than 170 jets remained grounded for a fourth day.
Lennar rose 2.2 per cent after the homebuilder increased its annual dividend to US$2 (RM9.29) per share from US$1.50, and share buyback program by US$5 billion.
Dow Inc slipped 0.7 per cent after Deutsche Bank downgraded the chemicals firm to “hold” from “buy”.
DocGo dropped 14.0 per cent after Fuzzy Panda Research revealed short position in the health services company’s stock.
Intuitive Surgical climbed 5.0 per cent after the medical device maker’s preliminary fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates. — Reuters
