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Stocks - U.S. Futures Rise as FOMC Meeting Kicks Off

Published 2019-03-19, 06:42 a/m
Updated 2019-03-19, 07:01 a/m
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

Investing.com - U.S. futures jumped on Tuesday, as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make a decision Wednesday on interest rates, but investors expect the central bank to keep its benchmark rate unchanged and remain patient on monetary policy.

The sharpest focus this week will be the release of the Fed’s updated forecasts for economic growth, known as the dot-plot, which many expect to reflect a softening of position by many FOMC members in response to a spate of weak economic data recently. Job creation nearly stalled in February, while manufacturing production fell and retail sales have also lost their zip.

Dow futures rose 85 points to 0.33% by 6:40 AM ET (10:40 GMT), while S&P 500 futures gained 8 points or 0.31% and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up 22 points or 0.31%.

HD Supply Holdings surged 4.7% in premarket trading after its fourth-quarter earnings came in higher than expected, while semiconductor company Micron (NASDAQ:MU) gained 0.7% and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was up 0.5%. Aurora Cannabis jumped 2.8% while Procter & Gamble inched up 0.4%.

Elsewhere Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 0.5% on news that its CEO Elon Musk never sought pre-approval for his tweets about the company, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a judge on Monday. The SEC claims Musk is in violation of his fraud settlement with the agency. Two Harbors Investment was down 2.8% after it announced a public offering of some $250 million of common stock.

In commodities, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,308.25 a troy ounce, while crude oil jumped 0.6% to a new 2019 high of $59.72. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 95.80.

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