U.S. Futures Largely Unchanged; Fed Minutes Due

© Reuters

By Peter Nurse   

Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening largely unchanged Wednesday, remaining near record levels, with focus on the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes.

At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up just 5 points, less than 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures traded 1 point, again less than 0.1%, higher, and Nasdaq 100 Futures was flat.

The S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak, after hitting a record high of 4,086.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite ended down 0.1%.

However, these losses were minor and the overall mood is one of optimism, with all three major averages coming off their fourth straight positive quarter, as an impressive vaccination program, continued fiscal and monetary stimulus and strong data all point to a sharp economic recovery.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon sees strong growth ahead for the U.S. economy as the government’s response to the pandemic has left much of the U.S. population flush with cash.

“This boom could easily run into 2023 because all the spending could extend well into 2023,” Dimon said in his annual shareholder letter.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday moved up the Covid-19 vaccine eligibility target for all American adults to April 19, two weeks earlier than the May 1 deadline he announced previously.

The minutes of last month’s Federal Reserve meeting are due at 2:00 PM ET (1800 GMT), and will attract much attention later Wednesday, particularly in terms about what policy makers were thinking about inflation, the bond-buying program and the associated yields.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note last traded at 1.64%, having climbed as high as 1.78% last month, the highest level since January last year.

In the corporate sector, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is likely to be in focus after CEO Jeff Bezos signaled his support for President Biden’s plans to raise corporate income tax on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) could also be in the spotlight over its handling of the Archegos Capital saga.

Oil prices edged higher Wednesday, helped by U.S. crude inventories falling last week.

Data from the industry body, the American Petroleum Institute, showed a reduction of 2.6 million barrels for the week ending April 2, more than expected and indicative of a pickup in demand in the United States, the world's biggest fuel consumer. 

Crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later in the day.

U.S. crude futures traded 0.7% higher at $59.75 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.8% to $63.27. 

Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,736.30/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.1888.