By Shashank Nayar
(Reuters) – S&P and Nasdaq futures hovered just below record highs on Wednesday with investors on edge before potential comments from the Federal Reserve on when it would taper its massive monetary stimulus.
The Fed has previously tried to assuage concerns that rising inflation would prompt it to tighten its ultra loose monetary policy, but data on Tuesday showing a jump in producer prices has again raised expectations the central bank could begin debating closing the taps at its meeting this week.
The central bank’s latest policy statement is expected to be released with fresh economic projections at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
At 6:56 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 34 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.75 points, or 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 15.25 points, or 0.11%.
In corporate news, Oracle Corp dropped 4.7% in premarket trading as the business software maker forecast current-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates.
Banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs tracked a dip in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield. [/US]
Energy stocks Exxon Mobil and Chevron were subdued even as oil prices climbed toward $75 a barrel to their highest since April 2019. [O/R]
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
