|
The
Fed left interest rates unchanged at its meeting last month but
said near-term risks to the economy had diminished, leaving the
door open for a possible rate hike this year.
Investors will parse the minutes of the meeting for hints about
when the Fed could next raise rates, especially in light of New
York Fed President William Dudley's hawkish comments on Tuesday.
Dudley, a permanent voting member and a close ally of Fed Chair
Janet Yellen, said a rate hike as soon as September was possible
given evidence of wage gains and a tighter labor market.
The dollar index <.DXY> snapped a three-day rout on Wednesday,
rising 0.17 percent, as traders boosted their bets on a rate
hike. The move pushed oil prices lower by nearly 1 percent.
Traders see a 15 percent chance of a hike in September, up from
9 percent before Dudley's Tuesday comments, while the bets
jumped to 45.1 percent from 37.4 percent for December, according
to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Wall Street has been trading at record highs in the past few
weeks, supported by better-than-expected corporate earnings and
expectations of the Fed keeping rates low.
The three indexes ended lower on Tuesday after Dudley's
comments.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is scheduled to speak at a
conference at 1:00 p.m. ET (1700 GMT). No major economic data is
expected on Wednesday.
Target's <TGT.N> shares fell 2 percent in light premarket
trading after the big-box retailer's quarterly profit dropped
nearly 10 percent.
Urban Outfitter <URBN.O> jumped 12.04 percent to $35 after the
apparel maker posted a surprise rise in comparable sales,
attracting a host of brokerages to raise price targets. The
stock was the top percentage gainer among S&P 500 components.
Lowe's <LOW.N> shares fell 5.5 percent to $77.03 after the home
improvement chain's quarterly comparable sales missed estimates.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
