Wall St. set to open
lower ahead of Fed minutes
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[October 12, 2016]
By Yashaswini Swamynathan
(Reuters) -
Wall
Street looked set to open lower on Wednesday as investors eyed the finer
details of the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting.
While the Fed stood pat on interest rates during the meeting, three
members voted for a hike. The minutes will reveal policymakers' views on
the progress of the U.S. economy and its ability to absorb an increase
this year.
Traders have currently set a 70 percent chance of a rate hike in
December, the CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.
"We are going to have to wait till 2 p.m. today to see what kind of
discussion the FOMC had on rates," said Kim Forrest, senior equity
research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Wall Street sold off on Tuesday as biotechnology stocks took a beating
and the first rush of corporate earnings, including those of Alcoa <AA.N>,
were disappointing.
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The markets are likely to be more volatile as the third-quarter earnings
season will test relatively high valuations of stocks. The changing
dynamics of the U.S. presidential elections and a strong possibility of
a December U.S. interest rate hike are the other factors weighing on
investors' minds.
Overall S&P 500 earnings are currently expected to fall 0.7 percent in
the third quarter, marking the fifth quarter of negative earnings in a
row, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Dow e-minis were down 46 points, or 0.25 percent, with 27,328 contracts
changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis were down 5.5 points, or 0.26 percent, with
183,453 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.3 percent, on volume of
26,877 contracts.
Oil prices were up 0.27 percent on Wednesday as major producers meet in
Istanbul where oversupply could be addressed. [O/R]
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in
New York City, U.S., October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Fortinet shares plunged 14.5 percent premarket after the cybersecurity
company cut third-quarter revenue and profit forecast. Shares of rivals
Palo Alto and Fireeye also fell.
Barracuda Networks rose 8.9 percent after the computer security and
storage firm's quarterly revenue beat analysts' estimates.
Apple was up 0.4 percent after Mizuho raised the stock's price target.
The iPhone maker's shares have risen for the past six days, gaining in
part by rival Samsung's issues with its Galaxy Note 7 phones and its
eventual profit warning on Wednesday.
Newell Brands rose 3.4 percent after the consumer products company said
it would sell its tool business to Stanley Black & Decker for $1.95
billion.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil
D'Silva)
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