Stock futures were edging up after the artificial-intelligence rally came to an abrupt halt in the previous session. Markets are looking for catalysts amid a lack of economic data while the U.S. government shutdown drags on, which means today’s minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting may carry even more weight than usual.
Dow Jones Industrial Index futures were up 70 points in Tuesday’s premarket, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 was rising 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was up 0.3%.
The S&P 500 fell for the first time in more than a week Tuesday as Wall Street pumped the brakes after a series of record highs in what looked like signs of buyer exhaustion. The Dow and Nasdaq also finished the session lower.
The continuing government shutdown means there is a vacuum of economic data on which the Fed usually depends to inform its decisions. That leaves traders looking for any other signs from the central bank about its intentions on interest rates.
There were mixed messages yesterday that may have contributed to the market malaise. Fed Gov. Stephen Miran said his expectations for a limited tariff impact on inflation mean the central bank can keep easing monetary policy. While Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari warned that any drastic rate cuts would risk stoking prices.
However, today’s minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee could offer something more concrete. The central bank cut rates by a quarter point at the last meeting with Miran, President Donald Trump’s pick for the Fed board, the lone dissenting voice. Market watchers will look for any indication from other members that they advocate a further loosening of monetary policy.
“Market bulls benefited significantly in the past few days amidst a lack of economic figures, however, as multibillion dollar AI deals strengthened sentiment regarding modern technology’s growth potential. While that exuberance has quelled, further upside may emerge from Fed speakers acknowledging that decelerating labor conditions warrant imminent rate cuts across several meetings,” wrote Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
Among equities, tech will also remain in focus. The giants of the sector led markets lower Tuesday amid a report that cloud margins from software maker Oracle are below many estimates. Meantime, Tesla stock sank over 4% after the car maker introduced new versions of its top-selling models priced at under $40,000, with critics saying the lower-price models are too expensive to convert buyers to the brand.
AI continues to be the hot topic but as the earnings season gets going many of the market-moving tech titans don’t report until the end of the month. PepsiCo and Delta Airlines post results tomorrow, which could give an indication of the health of the consumer and Americans’ spending power in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Any indication of the strength of the economy will likely be amplified by markets in the absence of official numbers.
Gold continued to be the big winner amid political uncertainty as the price of the precious metal settled above $4,000 for the first time. The haven asset has jumped more than 50% this year in the face of uncertainties over global trade, the Federal Reserve’s independence, and U.S. fiscal stability. It was rising again early Wednesday, up 1.2% in early trade.
Elsewhere, bonds rose as a $58 billion Treasury sale drew solid demand but the benchmark 10-year was paring back on Wednesday—edging lower by up to 0.4 basis points, according to Tradeweb data.