BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski discusses his market outlook.
U.S. equity futures traded lower Thursday morning after Federal Reserve policymakers indicated they are leaning toward more decisive action on inflation but set no firm targets.
The major futures indexes suggest a decline of 0.2% when the opening bell rings on Wall Street.
Investors are watching for the potential for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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According to the Fed’s notes, officials agreed at their January meeting that faster rate hikes would be needed “if inflation does not move down” as the central bank’s policymaking committee expects.
As recently as December, Fed officials forecast inflation, which stands at 5.8%, would fall to 2.6%.
Most analysts expect Fed officials to raise that forecast at their next meeting in March.
On Thursday’s economic agenda, the Labor Department will release new claims for unemployment benefits for last week. Expectations are for 219,000, down from 223,000 the previous week and the fourth straight weekly decline. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, are anticipated to fall by 16,000 to 1.605 million.
RETAIL SALES RISE FASTER THAN EXPECTED IN JANUARY DESPITE SURGING INFLATION
Meantime the Commerce Department is expected to say that the number of new homes under construction in January fell 0.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7 million. That’s down from 1.702 million in December. Permits for future construction are anticipated to fall 6.6% to 1.76 million in January, down from an 11-month high of 1.873 million in December.
And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release its index of manufacturing activity for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. It’s expected to slip 3.2 points this month to a reading of 20.0. Any reading above zero means that more manufacturers say business conditions are improving rather than worsening.
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On the earnings docket, Walmart reports before the opening bell.
After the closing bell we’ll hear from electrical utility Con Ed, telecom firm Liberty Global and digital media player favorite Roku to name a few.
In European trading, London’s FTSE was off 0.1%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% and France’s CAC added 0.6%.
In Asia, The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gave up 0.8%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.1% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 34934.27 | -54.57 | -0.16% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4475.01 | +3.94 | +0.09% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14124.094614 | -15.66 | -0.11% |
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose to 4,475.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained slipped 0.2% to 34,934.27 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1% to 14,124.09.
DOORDASH REVENUE BEATS AS FOOD-DELIVERY BOOM CONTINUES, SHARES SOAR 24%
After the closing bell, shares of DoorDash Inc soared 24% after quarterly revenue beat estimates as food delivery demand showed no sign of slowing.
Shares of Cisco rose 5% in after-hours trading after the networking firm announced a $15 billion increase to its stock repurchase program and reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Bitcoin hovered around $44,000.
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Energy markets have been volatile because Russia is one of the biggest oil producers. Any military action that disrupts supplies would jolt prices and global industry.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.20 to $92.47 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.59 to $93.66 on Wednesday. Brent crude, used as the price basis for international oils, sank $1.09 to $93.70 per barrel in London. It rose $1.53 the previous session to $94.81.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
