Dow Futures Down 110 Pts; Fed Meeting, Ford Woes in Focus By Investing.com

By Peter Nurse

Investing.com — U.S. stocks are seen opening lower Tuesday, puncturing the previous session’s modest rebound as investors prepare for the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, and another likely rate increase.

At 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the contract was down 110 points, or 0.4%, traded 15 points, or 0.4%, lower and dropped 60 points, or 0.5%.

The major equity averages closed higher Monday, with the blue-chip gaining almost 200 points, or 0.6%, after they had registered their worst week since June last week.

The Fed’s begins later Tuesday, and the decision will come out Wednesday, followed by a press conference led by Chair Jerome Powell.

Fed policymakers have made it clear that they are prioritizing getting under control, despite the recession fears that such aggressive tightening has created. Thus the market is expecting at least a three-quarter point increase in the , while there are some people predicting a larger full-point increase.

“We expect a third consecutive 75bp hike,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “High inflation means 100bp is a risk, but inflation expectations and corporate price plans look less threatening and the growth outlook is more uncertain so we don’t see it.”

Adding to the negativity Tuesday, Ford (NYSE:) stock slumped 5% premarket after the auto giant announced late Monday that third-quarter supplier costs will be roughly $1 billion higher than anticipated due to increased inflation pressures.

The next round of corporate earnings will start to arrive in early October, but ahead of this Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:) is expected later Tuesday, with analysts expecting a per-share loss of 63 cents on revenue of $488.7 million.

The economic data slate centers around the real estate sector Tuesday, with August and data due at 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT).

Housing starts are expected to be on an annualized basis, while building permits are seen at annualized. Both would be down from the prior month’s readings.

Oil prices steadied Tuesday ahead of the start of the Fed meeting, with traders wary that further monetary tightening will stunt economic growth and the demand for crude.

The , an industry body, releases its latest estimate for U.S. crude stocks later in the session, with last week’s figure showing a hefty 6 million barrel addition.

By 07:00 ET, futures traded 0.1% lower at $85.24 a barrel, while the contract rose 0.1% to $92.07.

Additionally, fell 0.1% to $1,676.50/oz, while traded 0.2% lower at 1.0004.