The New York Stock Exchange is open.
Xinhua/Wang Ying
US stock futures struggled to find direction as investors waited to see if the Federal Reserve will shift policy because of inflation and the Omicron coronaviruses variant.
The futures on the S&P 500 were not moving much. The start of trading later in the day could be cautious.
The US central bank has been buying bonds to support the economy since the beginning of the year. The end of the process would be brought forward to March from June.
The Fed announced at their last meeting that they would start to reduce their asset purchases, but there is strong anticipation that they will accelerate that pace today," the strategists said.
The policy meeting of the central bank will end at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. 30 minutes later, Chair Powell gave a speech.
The producer price inflation rose 9.6% in November, the fastest pace since records began in 2010, and up from 8.8% in October. Consumer price inflation hit its highest level in 39 years last week.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG, said that inflationary pressures are likely to put the Fed discussion into a more hawkish frame.
He said that investors expect higher prices to flow through the economy regardless of what the Fed does, but that a shift towards rate hikes next year seems very much nailed on.
According to analysts, at least two interest-rate rises are likely in the next year.
Ahead of Thursday's decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, stocks in Europe traded in a wait-and-see mode. The Euro Stoxx 600 added 0.4%, while the DAX gained 0.4%. The London's FTSE 100 fell.
UK inflation rose to a 10-year high of 5.1% in November, from 4.2% in October. The BoE is expected to hold fire in its interest-rate decision.
With more restrictions still a possibility before Christmas, or perhaps more likely into the new year, a move to increase interest rates even slightly this week would be a brave decision.
The World Health Organization said Thursday that the coronaviruses variant is present in 77 countries.
Retail sales in China missed expectations in November, while industrial production beat estimates.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.9% while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.38%. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down.
Concerns that the spread of Omicron could disrupt demand caused oil prices to fall. The International Energy Agency revised its demand outlook down earlier this week, saying that any recovery will be hurt by the surge in cases.
According to the monthly report released by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the impact of the virus on oil demand will be short-lived.
West Texas Intermediate lost 1% to reach $70.02 a barrel, while the price ofBrent crude fell 0.8% to $73.11 a barrel.
An equities chief for a $240 billion investment firm lays out an overlooked market risk that could cause supply chain and inflation issues as early as next year.
Business Insider has an original article.
