Investing.com - Wall Street stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Thursday as investors continued to be on watch for more signals on the future path for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) removal of accommodative policy.
The blue-chip Dow futures lost 20 points, or 0.10%, by 6:52AM ET (10:52GMT), the S&P 500 futures fell 3 points, or 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 5 points, or 0.08%.
In a slew of remarks from Fed officials this week, the balance has been largely hawkish with several members of the U.S. central bank calling for more hikes and discussion of balance sheet normalization, while also indicating that the balance of risks for economic growth were to the upside.
There are four more Fed speakers on the calendar for Thursday. New York Fed chief William Dudley, widely considered to be the member whose views most closely align with Fed chair Janet Yellen, is expected to be the most important, with a 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) discussion on financial conditions and monetary policy.
Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester speaks at 8:45AM ET (12:45GMT), San Francisco Fed chief Williams speaks at 11:00AM ET (15:00GMT), while Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan speaks at 3:00PM (19:00GMT) in New York.
On the data front, investors will have initial jobless claims and the third estimate of fourth quarter GDP, both released at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT).
Fed fund futures priced in only a 46% chance of a rate hike in June, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, though the odds pass the 50% threshold in July.
Still, despite the Fed’s own median call for two more hikes this year, markets put the chance of two hikes by the end of the year at only about 43%.
Furthermore, Fed governor Jerome Powell and Kansas City Fed chief Esther George commented earlier this week that the eventual impact of potential fiscal policies from U.S. President Donald Trump was too uncertain to include in the outlook.
In that light, investors were watching news flow with respect to the Trump Administration.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said late Wednesday that the Trump administration would unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan later this year, but she did not offer details of funding for projects.
In trade relations, China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping would travel to the United States to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida on April 6-7.
Meanwhile, the rally in oil prices lost steam on Wednesday as investors took profits over concern on rising U.S. stockpiles.
Still, crude remained supported as supply disruptions continued in Libya and the OPEC-led output cut looked likely to be extended.
U.S. crude futures fell 0.22% to $49.40 by 6:53AM ET (10:53GMT), while Brent oil lost 0.38% to $52.34.