Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, May 3:
1. Fed expected to stand pat on rates
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00PM ET (18:00GMT) on Wednesday.
The central bank will release its post-meeting statement, in meeting that will not include economic projections or a follow-up press conference with Fed chair Janet Yelln, as investors look for any change in language which could point more clearly to a June rate hike.
Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool showed the odds for a June move to currently be around 64%.
2. Jobs data and service sector activity to serve as prelude to Fed
Fed officials will receive some last minute indicators on the state of the labor market and activity in the service sector prior to making their decision.
ADP will release its monthly data on nonfarm employment for April at 6:15AM ET (12:15GMT). While not viewed as a reliable guide for the government jobs report due on Friday, May 5, it does give guidance on private-sector hiring.
At 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT), the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) will release its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the month of April.
While looking ahead to the data, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.19% at 98.97 by 5:57AM ET (9:57GMT).
3. Apple sales disappoint, shares off 1.5%
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported a surprise fall in iPhone sales for its second quarter on Tuesday after the market close, with chief executive Tim Cook blaming “rumors around future products” for the revenue miss.
Shares were trading down around 1.5% in pre-market trade on Wednesday.
With 343 S&P firms already having reported earnings for the first quarter period, 75% have beat the consensus and 67% topped revenue forecasts, according to The Earnings Scout.
Reporting on Wednesday, markets will hear from the likes of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Sprint (NYSE:S), The Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) and Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP), among others.
4. Oil bounces back from 1-month low
Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, bouncing back from the prior session's more than one-month low after industry data overnight showed a sizable decline in U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles.
Oil has been under pressure on concerns that increasing activity by U.S. drillers may thwart major oil producers attempts to cut output and reduce the global supply glut.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories fell by 4.16 million barrels in the week ended April 28.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official weekly oil supplies report at 10:30AM ET (14:30GMT) Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.84% to $48.06 at 5:58AM ET (9:58GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.91% to $50.92.
5. Global stocks show caution ahead of Fed decision
Global stocks traded mostly lower on Wednesday as investors opted to take risk off the table on the back of disappointing earnings from Apple and ahead of the Fed’s announcement on monetary policy.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wednesday. At 5:59AM ET (9:59GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures slipped 0.08%, S&P 500 futures lost 0.17% and the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.29%.
Elsewhere, European equities retreated from 20-month highs while market participants contemplated fresh concerns over Brexit negotiations and as investors were awaiting the second round of France’s presidential election on Sunday.
Earlier, Asian shares ended mixed while Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea stock markets remained closed for a holiday.