US stock futures little changed ahead of Fed meeting results
Almost no one predicts the Fed will lower rates, but economists predict that the decision for the first time since 1993, will not be unanimous with two Fed governors dissenting.
Investors will look for clues in the Fed's policy statement and at Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference for when the Fed might be ready to lower rates. The CME FedWatch tool that measures the likelihood that the Fed will change the Federal target rate at upcoming meetings according to market traders shows a 63.4% chance for a September rate cut. October holds a 49.2% chance.
Lower rates make borrowing money cheaper, which is seen giving businesses and consumers reason to spend and boost the economy and the stock market.
"The question is whether they will convey a greater openness to cutting rates at their September meeting," said Bill Nelson, chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute. "For several reasons, my guess is that they won't. The FOMC statement and Chair Powell's press conference will aim to strike the same neutral tone as in June."
At 6:05 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow slipped -0.02%, while broad S&P 500 futures added 0.05% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures rose 0.11%.
Ongoing trade deal talks
U.S. and Chinese officials continue to hold trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden as an agreement to extend a tariff truce that expires on Aug. 12 remains elusive. Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang told reporters that both sides agreed on maintaining the truce, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that was jumping the gun. Any extension would have to be approved by President Donald Trump, he said.
Meanwhile, South Korean officials met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington to try to prevent an increase in tariffs on Korean exports before an Aug. 1 deadline.
Earnings
Investors also will be looking at key earnings reports for direction. More so-called Magnificent Seven influential megacap technology stocks are slated to report this week. They include Facebook-parent Meta Platforms and software giant Microsoft after the market closes. Investors will want to see if artificial intelligence spending remains intact. AI spending has fueled the rally in many tech stocks this year.
Other companies due to report after the close include Robinhood, Qualcomm, Arm Holdings, Lam Research, Carvana and Allstate.
Before the market opens, investors will see results from Hershey's, Altria, Garmin, Kraft Heinz, Humana and Wingstop.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
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