US pre-open: Futures lower as traders look ahead to Fed meeting

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were slightly lower ahead of the bell on Monday as investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year.

As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.11% and 0.13% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 130.49 points higher on Monday after news that the US economy had added more jobs than expected in November, with non-farm payrolls rising by 199,000.

No major data points were scheduled for release on Monday, with traders instead patiently awaiting the outcome of the central bank's last policy meeting of 2023 on Wednesday, as well as key inflation data in the form of November's consumer and producer price indices, due out on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

The Federal Reserve was widely expected to maintain its fed funds rate in the 5.25-5.5% range, with chairman Jerome Powell also expected to reiterate his commitment to lowering inflation.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Friday's US jobs report provided the basis for a more hawkish stance at the Fed this week, with markets gradually easing back on their rate cut expectations. With questions remaining over whether headline (3.2%) and core PCE (3.5%) inflation will hit target by March, the strength of the US jobs market highlights the potential for a relatively hawkish take from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

"The Federal Reserve forecasts should provide a strong basis for markets to base their expectations upon, and it has become quite apparent that the US jobs market remains incredibly resilient despite the restrictive actions of the Fed."

In the corporate space, Macy's surged in pre-market trading after news broke that the retailer had received a $5.8bn buyout offer from an investor group consisting of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital.

Still to come, Oracle will report earnings on Monday, while tech giant Adobe and retailer Costco will deliver their latest quarterly reports on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com