Stock futures search for direction ahead of Fed meeting

FAN Editor

China trade tensions pressure stocks

Bullseye Brief author Adam Johnson and Fairfax Global Markets CEO Paul Dietrich discuss how U.S. trade relations with China could impact the markets.

Equity futures were undecided in early morning trading ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting and continued turmoil surrounding the Trump administration.

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Dow Jones futures were little changed. The S&P 500 added 0.04 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.08 percent.

The Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting Tuesday, investors widely expect policymakers to set in motion another increase to short-term interest rates. Investors and economists will also be watching Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose comments during a Wednesday afternoon press conference, may offer a better picture of officials’ plans heading into 2019 and potential concerns over the economic impact of new import tariffs.

On Tuesday morning, traders will examine reports on home prices and consumer confidence. In the afternoon, profit reports will be released by Nike and KB Home.

Stocks closed in negative territory Monday after the White House said President Trump would meet Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, on Thursday, dialing back earlier reports that an immediate firing was possible.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 181.45 points, or 0.68 percent, to 26,562.05. The S&P 500 dropped 10.3 points, about 0.3 percent, to 2,919.37. The Nasdaq Composite ticked 6.29 points higher, or 0.08 percent, to 7,993.25.

Ticker Security Last Change %Chg
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 26562.05 -181.45 -0.68%
SP500 S&P 500 2919.37 -10.30 -0.35%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 7993.2481 +6.29 +0.08%

The Trump administration on Monday placed tariffs of 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese products, with the tariffs set to go up to 25 percent by the end of 2018. Beijing’s new levies, which also went into effect Monday, will be 5-10 percent.

China’s Shanghai Composite returned to trading following a holiday and traded down  0.76 percent.

Hong Kong remained closed.

Japan’s Nikkei ended the day up 0.29 percent.

In Europe, London’s FTSE gained 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX was off 0.02 percent and France’s CAC was down 0.1 percent.

FOX Business’ Leia Klingel and Matthew Rocco contributed to this article.

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