- Summary
- U.S. shares of Chinese tutoring firms drop
- Oracle drops as profit forecast disappoints
- Futures: Dow dips 0.1%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.1%
June 16 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to open just below record highs on Wednesday, with investors on edge before potential hints from the Federal Reserve on when it would taper its massive monetary stimulus.
The Fed has previously tried to assuage concerns that rising inflation would prompt it to tighten its ultra loose monetary policy, but data on Tuesday showing a jump in producer prices has again raised expectations the central bank could begin debating closing the taps at its meeting this week. read more
Inflation concerns have dominated markets in recent weeks even as strong corporate earnings and the gradual reopening of the U.S. economy have helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reach all-time highs.
"All eyes are really on consideration of tapering," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
"My guess is it's likely not today's business and more in line with August's Kansas City, Jackson Hole summit where they might introduce the concept of timing around tapering but you never know."
The central bank's latest policy statement is expected to be released with fresh economic projections at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
At 8:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 33 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.5 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 20 points, or 0.14%.
In corporate news, Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) dropped nearly 5% in premarket trading as the business software maker forecast current-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates. read more
New York-listed shares of Chinese private tutoring companies New Oriental Education & Technology Group , TAL Education Group (TAL.N) and Gaotu Techedu Inc (GOTU.N) fell between 4.4% and 6.5% after a Reuters report that China was poised to unveil a much tougher than anticipated crackdown on the industry. read more
Banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), Bank of America (BAC.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) tracked a dip in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield . /US
Energy stocks Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) were subdued even as oil prices climbed toward $75 a barrel to their highest since April 2019.
Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Source: reuters.com
