U.S. stock futures are lower in pre-market trading for Wednesday, March 21.The Dow Futures are trading at 24,747.00 with a loss of -0.07% percent or -18.00 point. The S&P 500 Futures are trading at 2,721.75 with a loss of -0.06% percent or -1.75 point.The Nasdaq Futures are trading at 6,896.50 with a loss of -0.25% percent or -17.25 point.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 are trading at 21,380.97 with a loss of -99.93 percent or -99.93 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are trading at 31,531.28 with a loss of -0.06% percent or -18.65 point. China’s Shanghai Composite are trading at 3,280.95 with a loss of -0.29% percent or -9.69 point. India’s BSE Sensex are trading at 33,198.87 for up with +0.61% percent or +202.11 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 are trading at 7,035.89 with a loss of -0.36% percent or -25.38 point. Germany’s DAX are trading at 12,333.43 for up with +0.21% percent or +26.10 point. France’s CAC 40 are trading at 5,252.10 with a loss of -0.01% percent or -0.32 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 are trading at 375.42 with a loss of -0.05% percent or -0.17 point.
Wednesday’s Factors and Events
U.S. government debt prices were lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited the latest rate decision by the U.S. central bank.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was higher at around 2.894 percent at 5:50 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was higher at 3.125 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) March two-day meeting finishes today — it is due to release its latest monetary policy decisions at 2 p.m. ET.
Investors will be paying close attention to the Fed’s rhetoric, to see if it comments on key topics such as inflation, the state of the U.S. economy and politics.
Tuesday’s Activity
U.S. market were higher on Tuesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,727.27 for up with +0.47% percent or +116.36 point. The S&P 500 closed at 2,716.94 for up with +0.15% percent or +4.02 point. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,364.30 for up with +0.27% percent or +20.06 point.
Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,570.41 with a loss of -0.01% percent or -0.16 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 959.43 with a loss of -0.07% percent or -0.71 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,918.74 for up with +0.06% percent or +1.17 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,192.43 for up with +0.03% percent or +0.32 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,609.98 for up with +0.14% percent or +2.29 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,506.62 for up with +0.16% percent or +2.34 point; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 24,727.27 for up with +0.47% percent or +116.36 point.