US pre-open: Futures lower following FOMC minutes, Walmart earnings

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday as investors continued to thumb over minutes from the FOMC's last meeting and digest earnings from retail giant Walmart. As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.26%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.33% and 0.37% softer, respectively.

The Dow closed 129.47 points higher on Wednesday despite minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting pouring cold water on any lingering hopes of imminent cuts as it showed the central bank had little appetite for rate cuts, raising the likelihood of another hold when policymakers meet next, but also reflecting a divide among Fed officials.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "After a flat and uneventful overnight session, US stock index futures suddenly dipped as European markets opened this morning. The losses weren't confined to one sector but were broad-based, with all the majors experiencing a modest, but noteworthy, pullback. A scan of equities of major US corporations also suggested that the selloff was general and comes after Wednesday's positive session.

"It's worth noting that all the majors hit their best levels early in the afternoon and then pulled back later in the day. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its last FOMC meeting which took place at the end of January. These were viewed as more hawkish than expected, and this added some downward pressure on equities. Some FOMC members indicated a preference for a pause in interest rate cuts, to give more time to see evidence showing that inflation was on a downward trend. Some members had even considered that the next move could be a hike in rates. Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh, President Trump's preferred choice to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair in May, has made it clear he supports further monetary easing."

On Thursday's macro slate, weekly jobless claims data will be released at 1330 GMT, as will December goods and services trade balance figures, the Philadelphia Fed's February manufacturing survey, and a preliminary reading of December wholesale inventories numbers, while January pending home sales figures will follow at 1500 GMT.

In the corporate space, Walmart topped fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates on Thursday, but issued guidance for the current trading year that fell short of expectations, while Deere & Co said full-year profits had headed south, even as revenues surged, as tariffs weighed on margins.

Still to come, Live Nation and Dropbox were slated to report quarterly earnings after the close.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com