Dow Futures Decline As Fed Prepares Showdown With Trump
U.S. stock futures were pointing to losses early on Monday after the S&P 500 notched its longest winning streak in more than 20 years last week, with investors looking ahead to the Federal Reserve meeting.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 221 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures were dropping 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 0.6%.
The key event of the week for investors will be Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks Wednesday, following a two-day meeting of the Fed’s rate-setting committee, where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates steady despite President Donald Trump’s call for an immediate cut.
“Our U.S. economists expect the Fed to keep rates steady and avoid explicit forward guidance,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Peter Sidorov in a research note. “They continue to see the next rate cut coming in December and, while risks are tilted towards earlier easing, they see this as contingent on a weaker labour market.”
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.312% early on Monday, ticking down from the previous week.
The price of crude oil was dropping early, with West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. standard, down 2.9% at $56.58 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed on Saturday to increase output in June by 411,000 barrels a day.
Markets will also look for further updates on potential trade deals and tariffs. Trump authorized a 100% tariff on films produced overseas, he said in a Truth Social post Sunday, calling it a response to tax incentives that have lured a substantial number of Hollywood productions outside the U.S.