U.S. stock futures are lower in pre-market trading for Wednesday, June 14. The Dow Futures are trading at 21,322.00 for up with +0.20% percent or +43.00 point. The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,441.00 for up with +0.12% percent or +3.00 point. The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 5,774.12 for up with +0.26% percent or +14.87 point.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere,Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 19,883.52 with a loss of –0.08% percent or –15.23 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 25,875.90 for up with +0.09% percent or +23.80 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,130.67  with a loss of  –0.73% percent or –23.07 point. India’s S&P BSE Sensex are trading at 31,155.91 for up with +0.17% percent or +52.42 point. In Europe, the FTSE 100 are trading at 7,542.21 for up with +0.56% percent or +41.77 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 12,913.96 for up with +1.17% percent or +148.98 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,304.65 for up with +0.82% percent or +42.91point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 391.37 for up with +0.67% percent or +2.58 point.

Wednesday’s Factors and Events

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday after markets closed at new highs Tuesday following a rebound in technology stocks.

Dow futures rose 43 points, while S&P and Nasdaq futures gained 2.5 points and 12.25 points, respectively. Notable technology names like Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla and Alphabet all saw their stock prices rise before the bell.

Traders will be looking ahead to the second day of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, in which it is largely expected to raise interest rates and announce its plans for the U.S. balance sheet. The announcement is due at 2 p.m. E.T.

But the recent slowdown in inflation has become a red flag for markets, which doubt the Fed’s ability to hike a second time before year end.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen holds a post-meeting briefing and is expected to provide some more detail on the Fed’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet. The Fed hopes to begin shrinking that balance sheet this year by scaling back a program to replace Treasury and mortgage securities as they mature.

 

Tuesday’s Activity

U.S. market indexes were higher on Tuesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,328.47 for up  with  +0.44% percent or + 92.80 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,440.35 for up with +0.45% percent or +10.96 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,220.37 for up with  +0.73% percent or +44.90 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,428.5 for up with +0.10% percent or +1.3 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 866.07 for up with  +0.43% percent or  +3.71 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,769.34 for up with +0.59% percent or +10.34 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,074.64 for up with  +0.37% percent or +3.93 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,446.99 for up with  +0.49% percent or +7.02 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,352.99 for up with  +0.49% percent or +6.58 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 21,328.47 for up with  +0.44% percent or  +92.80 point.