Investing.com - Wall Street stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Tuesday as markets gear up for the final week before the Federal Reserve (Fed) announces its monetary policy decision.
The blue-chip Dow futures slipped 13 points, or 0.06%, by 6:55AM ET (11:55GMT), the S&P 500 futures lost 3 points, or 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 8 points, or 0.15%.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, Fed fund futures are currently pricing in an 86% chance of hike next week.
With the U.S. central bank now in its blackout period ahead of the two-day monetary policy meeting beginning on March 14, most analysts suggested that only a dismal jobs report this Friday might have the power to stay the Fed’s hand.
Tuesday was expected to be a quiet session with just the January trade balance and consumer credit set for release at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT) and 3:00PM ET (20:00GMT), respectively.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated global economic growth would run at 3.3% this year before reaching 3.6% in 2018, unchanged from its last estimates in November.
The OECD did make adjustments to its forecasts for the U.S. however, estimating that the American economy would grow 2.4% this year as domestic demand firms, up from 2.3% in its last forecasts from November, but cutting its projection for 2018 to 2.8% from the prior 3% as higher government spending helped offset the impact of rising interest rates and a stronger dollar.
“Policy choices, including on the composition of fiscal spending, taxation, regulation and trade, are likely to have a significant impact on growth outcomes,” the OECD said in the report.
On the company front, Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb) and Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) were scheduled to report earnings before the opening bell while H&R Block (NYSE:HRB), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) and Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) were among firms set to release after the close.
Meanwhile, oil prices were little changed on Tuesday, holding in a familiar trading range as market players continued to weigh the prospect of production cuts by major crude-producing nations against a rise in U.S. drilling.
Oil traders will pay close attention to comments from major OPEC figures and other producers attending the annual weeklong CERAWeek Conference in Houston, Texas.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.36% to $53.39 by 6:56AM ET (11:56GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.32% to $56.19.
Elsewhere, China's foreign exchange reserves rose for the first time in eight months in February, climbing above the key $3-trillion level, amid recent government efforts to tighten capital movement controls and stabilize the yuan's exchange rate.
Lastly, German factory orders for January plunged at the steepest pace in eight years, raising concern over the health of the euro zone's biggest economy.