Stock futures edged down amid continued negotiations on the debt ceiling and ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting and more earnings.
Investors are looking out for more signals from the Fed about how policy makers plan to simultaneously stabilize the financial system and fight inflation. The White House press secretary said the two sides are continuing to discuss the path forward on the debt limit.
Tech giant Nvidia is scheduled to post earnings after markets close.
In recent market action:
Stock futures edged down. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Dow industrials declined 0.25, while Nasdaq-100 futures ticked down 0.2%.
Regional bank stocks remained volatile, with some jumping premarket. PacWest rose 8% offhours after it struck a deal to sell a real-estate lending unit. Metropolitan Bank added 2%.
U.S. bond yields wavered. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield stood at 3.698%, versus 3.696% at the previous close.
British yields rose sharply. Higher-than-expected inflation in April drove U.K. gilt yields up, with the 2-year yield rising more than a fourth of a percentage point. Market pricing shows investors now expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates further.
Oil prices extended their climb. The most actively traded contract for Brent crude gained around 1% to $77.64 a barrel after the Saudi energy minister’s warning to oil speculators at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday.
The New Zealand dollar weakened. The currency was down 1.6% against the greenback after the country’s central bank signaled that it may be finished tightening monetary policy, following another interest-rate hike. The yields on its government bonds declined sharply.
Global stock markets declined, following U.S. markets down from Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.6% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.9%. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1%.
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Source: https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-jones-05-24-2023
