The Federal Reserve will ease the terms of its Main Street lending facility to encourage more businesses to participate.
U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open, the day after the Nasdaq set its first closing record since February.
Continue Reading Below
The major futures indexes are indicating a loss of 0.6 percent when trading begins on Wall Street.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
The Fed has already promised unprecedented amounts of support to keep markets running smoothly during the coronavirus pandemic.
FED EXPANDS MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM TO ALLOW SMALLER, BIGGER LOANS
In Asian markets on Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.4 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.1 percent, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6 percent.
In Europe, London’s FTSE is down 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.9 percent and France’s CAC is off 0.7 percent.
On Wall Street, the broader S&P 500 is within 4.5 percent of its own record as optimism grows that the worst of the recession may have already passed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 27572.44 | +461.46 | +1.70% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3232.39 | +38.46 | +1.20% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 9924.744771 | +110.66 | +1.13% |
The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7 percent.
The Nasdaq composite, which is more heavily weighted to the big technology stocks that held up the best earlier this year, gained 1.1 percent to 9,924.74.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Benchmark U.S. crude oil slipped 40 cents to $37.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.36 to $38.19 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude oil was off 31 cents to $40.49 a barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
