Investing.com - Wall Street stock futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Tuesday on what was expected to be a light day of trade as a major snow storm hitting the East Coast may keep traders home and while investors remain cautious while the Federal Reserve (Fed) kicked off its two-day policy meeting.
The blue-chip Dow futures slipped 19 points, or 0.09%, by 7:01AM ET (11:01GMT), the S&P 500 futures dipped 2 points, or 0.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gave up 4 points, or 0.08%.
The Fed is widely expected to raise the fed funds target range by 25 basis points to a range between 0.75% and 1.00% when it announces its decision on Wednesday, with markets having already priced in the odds at around 93%, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
More than the tightening itself, investors will focus on the updated economic projections, including the dot plot that shows members’ expectations for future changes to interest rates, any signs of a more hawkish stance in the statement and, of course, Fed chair Janet Yellen’s follow-up press conference as they look to gauge to what degree the U.S. central bank may have become more aggressive with respect to monetary policy.
Fed officials previously projected three rate hikes in 2017, but that might move up to four, amid signs of an uptick in inflation and continued strength in the jobs market.
As the meeting starts up Tuesday, the chance for a third hike by December was above the 50% threshold, though odds for four moves by the end of the year stood at a paltry 21%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, firmed ahead of Wednesday’s decision and was last up 0.21% at 101.47 by 7:02AM ET (11:02GMT).
Still ahead in a light day for data, the U.S. will release the producer price index for February at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT); though the consumer price index for the same month out on Wednesday will likely garner more attention on Wednesday as the final piece of the inflation puzzle before the Fed makes its decision.
Meanwhile, oil prices attempted a slight rebound on Tuesday, after plunging to the lowest level since the end of November amid concern over rising shale production and record-high U.S. crude inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly stockpile report at 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock rise of 3.2 million barrels.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.74% to $48.76 by 7:03AM ET (11:03GMT), while Brent oil rose 0.88% to $51.80.
Elsewhere, the pound tumbled against both the dollar and euro as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May won the right to trigger Article 50, which kicks off the process of exiting the
European Union, after parliament passed legislation giving her the power to start the so-called Brexit process on Monday evening.
Also on the political radar, investors were focusing on the Dutch election, to be held Wednesday, which is being watched as a bellwether for the spread of populism in Europe, particularly ahead of next month's French election.
Opinion polls have suggested that Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders' right-wing Freedom Party, which wants to take the Netherlands out of the European Union and stop Muslim immigration, has lost its lead to more mainstream opponents.